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OF  TEE 

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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00017475322 


This  book  may  be  kept  out  one  month  unless  a  recall 
notice  is  sent  to  you.  It  must  be  brought  to  the  North 
Carolina  Collection  (in  Wilson  Library)  for  renewal. 


"«."»Vif'" 


Form  No.  A-369 
I 


w 


7 


THE  STRUGGLE 


THE  STRUGGLE 


BY 

SIDNEY  C.  TAPP,  Ph.  B. 

AUTHOR  OF  THE  STORY  OF  ANGLO-SAXON   INSTI- 
TUTIONS OR  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CON- 
STITUTIONAL   GOVERNMENT,    ETC. 


NEW  YORK 

A.  WESSELS  COMPANY 

1906 


Copyrighted  1506  by 
SIDNEY  C.  TAPP,  Ph.  B. 


'      \\.   W.  KITClilX  THi:    lIEPvO. 

A   Jiook   WriUcn    f>y  an  Atlunla   Maa 
That  is  CailcMl  "Tlao   Suugj;le." 

A  letter  from  Atlanta  gives  the  fol- 
'owing  about  a  new  book: 

"It"  is  generally  nnderstoocl  here 
that  'The  Struggle,'  which  is  crea.ting- 
<uch  a,  stir  since  being  placed  on  sale 
\londav  morning,  contains  as  its  vil- 
ians,  John  D.  Rockefeller,  Pierpont 
Morgan  and  James  U.  Duke,  preoident: 
3f  the  American  Tobacco  Com.oany, 
ind  that  Hon.  Vv\  AV.  Kltchin,  Con- 
?;i-essman  from  the  Fifth  Congrcssion- 
il  District  of  North  Carolina,  is  the 
hero.  Some  of  the  principal  scenes 
-)f  the  book  are  enacted  in  the  Old 
North  State.  The  H:>i).  Kidney  C. 
rapp.  the  author,  is  a  lav/yer  of  dis- 
tinction in  -ithis  city,  and  has  made 
■i  reputation  that  extends  throughoiu 
he  South  in  anti-railroad  and  corpo- 
ration litigation.  He  lias  written  sey- 
Dral  historical  works  which  have  been 
afccpted  as  standards  by  the  schol- 
ars  of   this   country   and    Europe,    be- 


I 


m£tn*  ^liv- 
rela- 


fofe  writing  this  work  of  Miction.  He 
was  born  near  Mebane,  N.  C..  'Y^iJ^^: 
three  years  ago'  and  was-  educated  at 
AYake  Forest  College,  N..  C  Furmari 
University,  S.  C  and,  the  Ijniver.siti, 
of  Chicago.  He  has  a  brother.y^^  ■ 
Tj.pp,  a  prominent  business 
ing  at  Kinston.  N.  C.  and  oihei 
tives  in  that  State.  . 

-When    Mr.    Tapp    was   seen   m    hi^ 

this  morning,   and   asked  it 

fact  that  Rockefeller,    Mor- 

Duke    were    the    viiUans  .ot 

he  said  he  had  nothing  to 

he    was    willing    to    submit 

of  the  work  t6   the  intelli- 

.^^^^ the  American   people.  ^  It  ir 

tmquestioned  here  that  Hon.  Y'  ^\: 
K^tchin  is  the  hero.  The  hook  \^ 
k-reated  a  great  stir  in  New  York  cind 
other  parts  of  the  country  fince  be- 
ino- -placed  on  sale,  and  is  said  to  be 
th?  ^L^cle  Tom's  Cabin'  of  this  gen^ 
eration."  ' 


lav»'  ofiice 
it  Vv'as  a 
gan  and 
the  book, 
say;  that 
the  truth 
gence  of 


TO 

MY  SAINTED  MOTHER 
Who  passed  into  the  great  Beyond  when  I 
was  only  eighteen  months  of  age,  and  to  my 
noble  father  who  joined  her  on  the  other  side 
of  the  River  when  I  was  only  nine  years  of 
age  and  left  me  alone  in  this  cold  world  to 
struggle  with  the  battle  of  life, 

This  volume  is  dedicated. 


PREFACE 


The  author  has  not  attempted  to  conform 
to  the  plot  of  the  conventional  novelist,  but  to 
tell  the  story  of  the  real  burden  under  which 
the  American  people  are  staggering.  The 
writer  has  made  the  forms  of  the  conven- 
tional novelist  give  away  to  the  real  purpose 
of  this  work.  No  work  has  any  claim  upon 
the  public  unless  there  is  a  purpose  in  sending 
it  forth.  The  intention  of  the  writer  has  been 
to  disclose  the  real  disease  in  Organized 
Society  of  the  American  Republic  in  this  the 
twentieth  century.  The  life  of  Grace  Shelton 
as  told  in  this  story  is  a  reality  in  thousands 
of  the  homes  in  this  land.  If  the  work  arrests 
the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  real  condi- 
tions as  told  in  this  story,  the  author  will  feel 
amply  compensated  for  his  efforts. 

S.  C.  T. 

Atlanta,  Ga.,  February,  1905. 


CONThlMTS 

CHAPTER 

PAGE 

I. 

The  Hope  of  a  Patriot 

.       11 

11. 

On  the  Way  to  Rocktite     . 

.      17 

III. 

The  Home  of  the  Sheltons 

.     22 

IV. 

Some  Happy  Days  at  Summer  Hill 

.     29 

V. 

A  Double  Marriage     . 

.     35 

VI. 

The  Beginning  of  a  True  Courtship 

.     47 

VII. 

Young  Wilson's  Next  Visit 

.     52 

VIII. 

Young  Wilson's  Repeated  Visits  and 

His 

Triumphant  Visit 

.     63 

IX. 

Grace  Meets  Another 

.     74 

X. 

Another    Double    Wedding 

.     95 

XI. 

A  Family  Reunion     . 

.   103 

XII. 

The   Cause          .... 

.   106 

XIII. 

The  Next  Meeting 

.   133 

XIV. 

The   Other   Side 

.  174 

XV. 

The  Real  Truth 

.   188 

XVI. 

The   "Captains    of   Finance"    Continue 

in 

Business       .... 

« 

.  207 

XVII. 

The  Effect          .... 

• 

.  219 

XVIII. 

The  Deserting  of  the  Old  Shelton  Mansion  237 

XIX. 

The     Democratic     Convention     of 

North 

Carolina        .... 

• 

.   245 

XX. 

Morris  Slogan's  Last  Letter 

• 

.  267 

XXI. 

Another  Political  Convention     . 

• 

.  273 

XXII. 

A  Continuation  of  the  Good  Work 

, 

.   287 

XXIII. 

The  Real  Criminals  in  the  Hands 

of 

the 

Law      ..... 

• 

.  297 

XXIV. 

Grace  Faithful  Unto  the  End     . 

• 

.   314 

THE  STRUGGLE 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  HOPE  OF  A  PATRIOT 


LEXINGTON,  Kentucky,  is  located  in  a 
beautiful  country— in  the  blue  grass 
section  that  bas  become  world  famed. 
It  was  its  natural  beauty  that  attracted  the 
attention  of  Henry  Clay  when  be  removed 
from  tbe  *  *  slashes ' '  of  Virginia  bunting  a  new 
bome  wbere  be  could  better  bis  conditions  in 
life.  It  was  bere  in  tbis  beautiful  garden  of 
modern  Eden  tbat  be  settled  and  began  bis 
great  career  tbat  made  bim  one  of  tbe  trio  of 
America 's  greatest  statesmen.  It  was  bere  tbat 
be  struggled  in  bis  young  manbood,  amid  ad- 
verse circumstances  and  conditions,  to  satisfy 
an  honorable  ambition.  It  was  here  in  a  new 
country  that  he  met  encouragement  among 
strangers— it  was  bere  that  be  developed  tbat 

11 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


life  wlierein  he  measured  arms  with  Calhoun 
and  Webster.  It  was  here  in  this  beautiful 
garden  of  nature,  after  a  life  spent  in  the 
service  of  his  country,  that  he  stood  and  said 
to  a  great  people  filled  with  patriotism,  love  of 
country  and  the  flag  and  devotion  to  their 
great  leader  and  hero:  **I  came  among  you 
without  money,  friends  or  kindred.  What  I 
am,  you  have  made  me.  I  may  have  not  ac- 
complished much  in  life.  I  may  have  not 
made  history.  I  may  have  served  my  coun- 
try poorly— another  might  have  done  better 
had  he  been  given  my  place  and  the  oppor- 
tunities that  you  have  given  to  me,  but  I  have 
done  my  best.  I  may  have  erred.  I  may 
have  made  mistakes,  for  it  is  human  to  err 
and  divine  to  forgive.  But,  fellow  citizens, 
my  course  is  ended.  I  have  lived  with  you ;  I 
have  suffered  defeat  with  you ;  and  I  have  en- 
joyed victory  with  you.  We  have  contended 
for  what  we  thought  was  for  the  best  interest 
for  the  entire  American  people— the  Constitu- 
tion and  the  Flag,  the  Union  under  the  Con- 
stitution. And  to  save  the  Union,  the  Union 
under  the  Constitution,  not  a  Union  consoli- 
dated into  an  Empire,  but  a  Union  constitut- 

12 


THE  HOPE  OF  A  PATRIOT 

ing  a  federal  government  composed  of  sover- 
eign states,  as  your  leader  and  trusted  serv- 
ant, has  been  the  chief  aim  of  my  life  and  my 
ambition.  To  this  cause  I  have  consecrated 
my  life,  for  in  our  system,  if  properly  con- 
strued and  properly  preserved,  is  the  only 
hope  of  justice  in  organized  society  among 
men.  To  preserve  this  system,  I  have  advo- 
cated every  reasonable  measure  of  compro- 
mise, given  an  ear  to  every  legitimate  conten- 
tion of  others— for  I  have  given  to  others  the 
same  credit  for  honest  motives  that  I  myself 
would  ask.  The  Republic  of  the  Fathers  thus 
far  has  undergone  many  trials  and  tribula- 
tions ;  but  many  issues  have  been  solved  and 
many  questions  have  been  settled.  What  the 
future  has  in  store  no  man  can  tell,  no  prophet 
can  foresee,  no  philosopher  can  unravel.  The 
spirit  of  liberty  struggling  up  through  the 
centuries  and  fighting  against  the  fates  of  all 
times,  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  a  home, 
and  for  over  two  thousand  years  the  spirit  of 
liberty  and  justice  has  been  inspiring  the  An- 
glo-Saxon race  to  free  the  world— moved  by 
this  inspiration  they  contested  with  and  drove 
back  from  the  Rhine  the  tax  gatherers  of 

13 


THE  STRUGGLE 


Eome  and  the  armies  of  conquest  of  the 
CsBsars— moved  by  the  same  force,  they  out- 
marshaled  on  every  field  of  carnage  the 
knighthood  of  the  ancient  Celts.  Inspired  by 
the  same  undying  thirst  for  liberty  when  they 
took  up  their  habitation  on  the  British  Isles, 
they  fought  against  the  conquering  Northmen 
and  their  despotism,  and  when  conquered  in 
battle  they  kept  up  the  fight  in  every  forum  to 
the  end  that  the  school  of  popular  rights 
which  they  represented  has  clashed  with  the 
school  of  nobility,  royalty  and  special  privi- 
leges of  the  Norman  House  for  nearly  two 
thousand  years  in  England.  And  when  they 
saw  that  their  principles  of  justice  and  popu- 
lar government  could  never  rule  in  England, 
in  their  entirety,  moved  by  the  truth,  the  be- 
lievers in  these  principles  fled  to  these  shores 
where  they  could  found  a  government  resting 
upon  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  where 
justice  would  rule  among  men  and  every  man 
under  its  system  could  have  a  chance  in  life's 
race.  Their  convictions  became  a  part  of 
their  lives,  a  part  of  their  very  existence,  and 
the  comers  to  this  continent— those  who  fled 
from  the  oppressions  of  the  old  world,  pro- 

14 


TEE  HOPE  OF  A  PATRIOT 

dnced  a  people  that  baptized  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  this  continent  in  the  best  blood  that 
the  world  has  ever  produced,  that  these  prin- 
ciples might  be  established  among  men  and 
this  Republic  founded.  And  it  stands  today, 
my  countrymen,  as  the  only  beacon  light,  the 
only  star  of  hope  to  the  oppressed  millions  of 
every  clime. 

*'No  man  can  tell  what  the  history  of  the 
future  will  be.  We  know  what  the  history  of 
the  past  among  the  governments  of  earth  has 
been.  "We  know  how  men,  guided  by  selfish- 
ness and  greed,  have  used  the  power  of  gov- 
ernment to  oppress  the  masses  and  concen- 
trate the  wealth  earned  by  the  many  into  the 
hands  of  the  few.  We  know  how  corrupt  laws 
and  corrupt  rulers  have  been  used  to  rob  the 
many  for  the  few,  in  the  nations  of  the  past. 
We  know  by  the  truths  of  history,  how  im- 
morality and  dishonesty  have  caused  the 
decay  and  destruction  of  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  God  forbid  that  this  should  be  the 
case  with  this  Republic!— may  our  people 
profit  by  the  history  of  the  ages  gone  and  the 
mistakes  of  the  peoples  of  other  times,  and 
may  justice,  truth,  honor  and  patriotism  be 

15 


THE  STRUGGLE 


the  chart  of  our  future  generations  to  guide 
the  Old  Ship  of  State  of  this  glorious  Repub- 
lic and  may  she  live  on  through  the  centuries 
giving  forth  hope  to  the  oppressed  millions 
everywhere,  until  justice  shall  rule  among 
men.  May  no  issue  stagger  her  and  may  no 
problems  be  too  complex  for  her  sons  through 
the  coming  ages  to  solve  according  to  the 
chart  of  truth  and  justice. 

*  *  My  countrymen,  my  course  is  run.  Father 
Time  has  bid  me  halt  and  lay  aside  the  duties 
here  among  men,  to  soon  take  up  the  duties  in 
another  sphere,  in  another  realm  among  those 
who  have  gone  before  and  we  trust  are  rest- 
ing in  that  land  where  all  law  is  justice  and  all 
ties  are  love.  My  countrymen,  I  bid  you 
adieu. '^ 


16 


CHAPTER  n 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  ROCKTITE 

LEXINGTON,  that  still  beautiful  city, 
stands  planted  in  a  modern  garden  of 
Eden,  where  a  people  reside  through 
whose  veins  the  blood  of  the  Revolutionary 
Fathers  courses,  and  in  the  midst  of  this  beau- 
tiful garden  of  Eden  stands  a  monument  of 
their  ideal  and  their  idol— of  their  leader  and 
their  hero,  inspiring  this  noble  people  to  con- 
secrate their  lives  to  the  Flag  and  the  Consti- 
tution, and  to  civic  justice  and  civic  righteous- 
ness—the immortal  Clay  still  lives  in  the 
hearts  of  his  people  as  well  as  in  bronze. 

As  you  move  out  from  Lexington  over  the 
Louisville  &  Nashville  system,  nature  seems 
to  inspire  you  with  the  spirit  of  patriotism. 
On  every  side  and  in  every  direction  as  far  as 
the  vision  of  the  eye  can  run,  nature  seems  to 
respond  and  to  declare  in  unmistakable  terms 
that  the  just  God  intended  that  a  great  and 

17 


THE  STRUGGLE 


free  people  should  liere  reside  and  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  liberty  and  justice,  and  the  fruits 
of  their  own  labor. 

As  you  are  whirled  on  from  station  to  sta- 
tion, the  vision  of  the  eye  sees  nothing  but 
prosperity  and  the  homes  of  a  happy  and  con- 
tented people— a  people  living  steadfast  in 
reverence  for  the  Creator  and  the  faith  re- 
vealed to  man,— as  you  go  whirling  on,  in 
every  hamlet,  every  village  and  every  road- 
side station,  the  spires  of  the  temples  of  wor- 
ship point  heavenward ;  and  the  school  houses 
stand  guard  as  the  sentinels  to  conscientious 
and  intelligent  citizenship. 

As  you  pass  on  you  are  whirled  through 
towns  and  cities  where  stand  the  temples  of 
justice,  whither  comes  an  honest  and  intelli- 
gent citizenship  to  submit  to  arbitration  all 
its  rights  in  their  sacred  precincts.  As  you  are 
whirled  on  through  this  beautiful  country 
wherein  reigns  the  twentieth  century  civiliza- 
tion, you  are  ready  to  ask,  could  the  heart  of 
man  wish  for  more  1  For  on  every  side  are 
the  ripening  fields,  the  lowing  herds  and  pa- 
latial homes,  temples  of  worship,  temples  of 
justice  and  institutions  of  learning-all  of 

18 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  ROCKTITE 

the  three  great  forces  that  go  to  constitute 
a  great  civilization— prosperity  and  a  happy 
people  are  in  evidence  everywhere.  And  at 
every  depot,  every  hamlet  and  every  village, 
the  beautiful,  queenly  women  of  this  unchal- 
lenged civilization  are  passing  to  and  fro  in 
entering  and  passing  from  your  palace  cars. 
And  as  you  pass  through  the  green  fields 
where  the  blue  grass  covers  Mother  Earth, 
everywhere  the  lowing  herds  are  replenishing 
nature's  demands  from  the  waving  fields  as 
far  as  the  vision  of  eye  can  run. 

The  palace  car  in  which  you  are  whirled 
through  space  at  sixty  miles  an  hour  is  the 
product  of  the  twentieth  century  civilization, 
possessing  more  of  the  conveniences  and  com- 
forts of  life  than  the  mansion  of  the  king  of 
the  thirteenth  century.  The  conductor,  the 
flagman,  the  brakeman,  and  even  the  porter 
of  this  palatial  home,  as  it  whirls  through 
space,  are  indisputable  evidences  of  a  great 
civilization— a  happy,  prosperous  and  con- 
tented people. 

On  and  on  you  are  whirled  until  the  vision 
of  the  eye  tells  you  you  are  passing  from  the 
blue  grass  region  that  has  made  ^*The  Old 

19 


THE  STRUGGLE 


Kentucky  Home"  world  famed  and  an  in- 
sj)iration  to  her  sons  and  daughters  wherever 
found.  On  and  on  you  go  until  Mother  Earth 
is  no  longer  covered  with  the  waving  blue 
grass  fields  and  you  realize  you  are  entering 
the  region  where  grows  the  ''weed"  that  the 
**red  man"  loved  so  dearly— you  are  now  in 
the  tobacco  section  of  ' '  Old  Kentucky. ' '  You 
are  nearing  Eocktite,  and  as  you  are  whirled 
on,  the  porter  passes  through  your  palatial 
car  and  makes  the  usual  announcement,  ^  ^  Next 
station  is  Eocktite ;  change  cars  for  all  points 
except  Louisville."  For  a  few  moments  as 
you  pass  on,  you  see  a  little  village  just  ahead 
of  you— there  is  nothing  visible  to  the  eye 
except  the  usual  little  depot  at  a  cross-road 
station,  a  small  frame  church  and  a  litttle 
square  frame  school  house;  but  as  you  are 
whirled  on  to  the  station  and  as  the  porter 
calls  out,  ''All  out  for  Eocktite!"  your  eyes 
behold,  standing  in  a  beautiful  grove  with 
beautiful  lawns  and  yards  leading  out  from 
it  toward  the  station,  a  palatial  mansion  that 
tells  the  story  that  it  is  a  home  of  refinement, 
culture  and  intelligence— a  home  that  is  the 
product  of  the  civilization  of  the  Cavaliers 

20 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  ROCKTITE 

who  settled  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  It  is 
evident  from  the  surroundings  that  the  pro- 
prietor and  the  ruler  is  an  ** uncrowned  king'' 
and  rules  his  domain  with  a  spirit  of  love  and 
gentility.  It  is  the  home  of  Col.  John  Shelton, 
whose  ancestors  were  at  the  framing  of  the 
Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  fought  the  British  at  King's  Mountain 
and  at  Alamance.  His  grandfather  removed 
from  the  ^^Old  North  State''  and  settled  in 
*^01d  Kentucky,"  and  for  three  generations 
his  family  has  been  one  of  influence  and  a 
factor  in  the  civic  affairs  of  the  common- 
wealth. 


21 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  HOME  OF  THE  SHELTONS 

ALONG-  driveway  paved  with  sea  shells 
shipped  from  the  Atlantic  coast  and 
overshadowed  with  large  elm  trees, 
leads  from  the  station  at  Rocktite  up  to  Sum- 
mer Hill,  the  home  of  the  Sheltons.  The 
beautiful  yards  at  Summer  Hill,  as  is  usual 
in  this  section,  include  many  acres.  These 
acres  are  laid  out  in  a  beautiful  system,  walk- 
ways and  driveways  leading  in  every  direc- 
tion. They  are  covered  with  beautiful  shade 
trees  and  flower  yards  and  beautiful  vines 
entwining  around  the  gigantic  oaks  and  elms 
can  be  seen  everywhere.  It  is  a  home  in  fact. 
Receding  back  from  Summer  Hill  lies  a  fertile 
and  beautiful  farm  of  some  several  hundred 
acres.  It  is  not  covered  with  the  blue  grass, 
but  the  '^weed"  and  the  waving  wheat  fields 
can  be  seen  everywhere.  Summer  Hill  is  not 
in  the  blue  grass  region  of  ^*01d  Kentucky," 

22 


THE  HOME  OF  TEE  SHELTONS 

but  in  that  section  where  the  ^^weed"  and  the 
golden  wheat  fields  grow. 

Col.  Shelton  inherited  the  farm  from  his 
father,  who  in  turn  inherited  it  as  a  part  of 
his  father's  estate— it  is  a  part  of  Maj.  Tom 
Shelton 's  original  estate,  who  removed  from 
the  '^Old  North  State"  and  was  among  the 
first  settlers  of  this  section. 

The  Sheltons  for  generations  have  been  in 
comfortable  circumstances,  among  the  **well 
to  do,"  but  not  rich.  They  have  been  an  in- 
dustrious family,  and  have  endeavored  by 
honest  efforts  to  accumulate  enough  of  the 
material  things  of  life  to  enjoy  some  of  its 
comforts  as  well  as  the  necessities  of  life ;  but 
they  have  never  been  a  family  who  by  ques- 
tionable methods  have  endeavored  to  get  the 
earnings  of  others ;  and  have  never  belonged 
to  that  class  of  society  that  is  commonly  called 
**  profligate." 

Maj.  Shelton,  Col.  John's  father,  was  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  for  several  terms, 
and  then  represented  his  district  in  Congress 
for  three  terms ;  but  he  always  lived  upon  his 
farm  and  looked  to  *^ Mother  Earth"  for  the 
support  of  his  family.    He  believed  in  a  civi- 

23 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


lization  wherein  every  man  should  labor  for 
an  honest  living,  and  he  reared  up  his  son, 
John,  with  the  same  ideas  as  to  life  and  the 
standard  of  right.  Col.  John  himself  has 
always  been  more  or  less  active  in  politics, 
and  for  several  terms  represented  his  county 
in  the  Legislature,  and  obtained  his  title  of 
Colonel  by  being  a  member  of  the  State 
troops. 

But  his  beautiful  farm  has  been  the  pride 
of  his  life.  To  beautify  its  acres  has  been  one 
of  the  chief  ambitions  of  his  life.  His  pros- 
perous farm,  his  beautiful  home  and  his  lov- 
ing, happy  and  cultured  family,  have  been 
the  objects  to  which  he  has  consecrated  his 
life. 

Mrs.  Shelton  was  a  Miss  Langston,  whose 
grandfather  removed  from  Virginia  about  the 
time  that  Col.  Shelton 's  grandfather  removed 
from  North  Carolina.  Her  ancestors  were  of 
the  ^* first  families  of  Virginia."  The  Shel- 
tons  and  Langstons  had  known  each  other's 
families  for  three  generations,  and  when 
Col.  John  and  Miss  Langston  were  united  in 
the  holy  bonds  of  matrimony  they  were  not 
the  only  ones  who  were  happy— the  entire 

24 


THE  HOME  OF  TEE  SHELTONS 

Shelton  and  Langston  families  were  pleased 
beyond  expression.  And  the  home  life  of  Col. 
Shelton  and  his  beautiful  wife,  through  all  the 
trials  that  naturally  and  incidentally  come  to 
the  matrimonial  state,  has  been  beautiful— 
not  one  jar  has  ever  marred  those  beautiful 
relations— their  home  life  has  been  in  keep- 
ing with  their  beautiful  home,  in  which  they 
have  lived— all  that  nature  could  ask. 

As  the  fruits  of  their  married  life  there 
have  been  born  four  beautiful  girl  children, 
Hattie  and  Marie,  two  beautiful  twin  daugh- 
ters; Euth  and  Grace.  These  four  beautiful 
girls  have  been  the  angels  of  Col.  and  Mrs. 
Shelton 's  life— Summer  Hill  was  always  the 
home  for  all  the  prominent  guests  who  visited 
the  village  of  Rocktite.  It  was  the  home  of 
the  ministers  of  all  denominations— Baptist, 
Methodist,  Presbyterian  and  Episcopalian, 
too,  if  one  chanced  to  come  that  way— 
the  Sheltons  were  Presbyterians.  Col.  Shel- 
ton and  his  beautiful  wife  delighted  in  making 
all  comers  to  Summer  Hill  feel  that  they  were 
at  home;  they  loved  their  friends,  and  the 
house  party  was  a  frequent  occasion  at  Sum- 

25 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


mer  Hill.  When  the  girls  grew  up  and  be- 
came old  enough  to  attend  the  academy  at 
Rocktite,  they  were  the  little  belles  of  the 
school,  modest,  courteous  and  gentle,  for 
they  had  the  training  of  Mrs.  Shelton,  their 
queenly  mother;  and  during  the  school  sea- 
sons at  Rocktite,  these  little  queens  invited 
their  school  friends  to  spend  the  Saturdays 
frequently  with  them  at  Summer  Hill,  and 
Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  enjoyed  the  guests  of 
their  little  queenly  daughters  as  much  as  the 
girls  did  themselves ;  they  always  took  delight 
in  returning  and  being  children  for  awhile 
with  these  little  queens.  The  Colonel  was  the 
ideal  hero  of  the  fair  little  ones,  for  he  was  a 
man  of  majestic  appearance,  tall,  erect,  firm 
in  his  manly  step  and  bearing,  brave  and  de- 
termined, yet  as  tender  and  sympathetic  as  a 
child— the  ideal  citizen  of  the  great  civiliza- 
tion in  which  he  lived.  Wlien  Hattie  and 
Marie  reached  the  age  to  be  sent  to  a  board- 
ing school,  they  were  all  prepared,  for  they 
had  good  preceptors  at  the  academy  at  Rock- 
tite ;  and  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  placed  them  in 
one  of  the  best  boarding  schools  of  Baltimore, 

26 


THE  HOME  OF  TEE  SHELTONS 

where  they  remained  until  their  education  was 
completed ;  and  when  they  were  finishing  their 
last  year,  Euth  and  Grace  were  sent  to 
Philadelphia,  where  their  education  was  com- 
pleted in  one  of  the  leading  boarding  schools 
of  the  old  Quaker  City.  Hattie  and  Marie, 
returning  home,  were  the  belles  of  the  com- 
munity, and  always  said  that  they  would  not 
marry— that  no  conquering  hero  could  bow  at 
their  shrine  until  Euth  and  Grace  had 
completed  their  education,  so  all  four  could 
pour  out  their  lives  of  devotion  in  the  home  at 
Summer  Hill  to  a  noble  mother  and  father. 
True  to  their  determination,  Hattie  and  Marie 
kept  the  home  at  Summer  Hill  a  place  of  joy 
to  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  and  all  who  chanced 
to  be  the  guests  of  their  hospitality ;  and  when 
two  years  had  passed  away,  Euth  and 
Grace  returned  from  the  old  Quaker  City, 
ready  to  join  the  happy  home  at  Summer  Hill. 
It  was  an  ideal  home— a  patriotic,  brave,  hon- 
est father;  industrious  and  a  *'good  pro- 
vider" for  his  family;  a  saintly  and  devoted 
mother,  four  cultured,  gentle  and  queenly 
daughters,  all  devoted  to  each  other,  happy 

27 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


and  contented  with  their  surroundings  and 
conditions— these  are  the  homes  that  make  a 
nation  great— invincible  and  indestructible. 


28 


CHAPTER  W 


SOME   HAPPY  DAYS  AT  SUMMER  HILL 

ALL  of  the  girls  are  at  home  from  school. 
They  have  been  raised  with  proper 
environments.  They  have  had  that 
education  that  makes  the  ideal  American 
woman— educated  minds,  educated  hearts  and 
educated  souls.  The  type  of  woman  that  has 
been  the  saving  power  of  every  nation— that 
has  stood  the  test  of  self-government  for  any 
length  of  time  in  history— for  true  woman  is 
the  saving  power  of  all  nations,  just  as  the 
heartless,  vain,  unprincipled  women  have 
been  the  first  signs  of  decay  in  other  civiliza- 
tions. Woman  is  the  true  index  of  the  civili- 
zation in  which  she  lives.  The  haughty,  vain, 
scheming,  designing  woman  is  the  product  of 
a  civilization  without  homes,  without  true 
wives  and  true  mothers,  and  such  a  civiliza- 
tion is  in  a  state  of  decay,  and  in  the  end  must 
go.    Loving,  kind,  refined,  cultured  woman— 

29 


THE  STRUGGLE 


the  woman  who  loves  home,  father,  husband 
and  children,  is  a  product  of  a  civilization  of 
true  homes,  churches  and  patriotism,  and 
such  a  civilization  is  anchored  steadfast  in 
godliness  and  love  of  country  and  can  with- 
stand the  erosive  and  eating  powers  of  cor- 
ruption, working  out  its  destiny  for  good 
wherever  it  rules. 

During  the  seasons  at  Summer  Hill,  the 
guests  were  frequent— it  was  '*open  house." 
The  ** chums"  of  the  girls  at  the  boarding 
schools  were  frequent  visitors,  and  frequently 
some  of  the  girls  would  leave  to  be  the  guests 
of  their  school  friends.  And,  too,  the  resorts 
would  be  visited— not  the  ultra  fashionable 
seaside,  because  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  did 
not  think  these  retreats  were  the  proper  places 
for  the  girls  to  go,  and  to  this  opinion  the  girls 
readily  assented— with  them,  their  father's 
and  mother 's  opinion  was  infallible.  Did  they 
not  have  the  greatest  father  and  the  best 
mother  on  earth  ?  Why,  of  course.  They  had 
been  raised  right,  and  when  a  child  is  raised 
right,  you  know  there  can  be  no  doubt  on  this 
point.  **Love  thy  father  and  thy  mother," 
and  **obey,"  too,  you  know,  and  both  of  these 

30 


SOME  HAPPY  DAYS  AT  SUMMER  HILL 

injunctions  were  respected  at  Summer  Hill. 
The  girls  always  went  to  the  respectable, 
quiet  resorts— where  good  and  refined  people, 
not  the  ^' giddy  and  gay,"  spent  their  vaca- 
tions, and  Mrs.  Shelton  always  went  with 
them,  and  the  Colonel  would  always  arrange 
to  spend  as  much  as  a  week  at  a  time  now  and 
then  with  them. 

While  at  the  *^ Springs,'^  Hattie  and  Marie 
were  belles— they  were  at  the  marriageable 
age,  you  know.  They  had  passed  the  **  school 
days."  They  had  finished  the  period  in  the 
*^ boarding  school."  They  had  made  their 
formal  debut  into  society— and  we  all  know 
what  that  means— that  acceptable  suitors  will 
be  duly  considered,  and  finally  either  accepted 
or  rejected.  But  while  at  the  *  *  Springs ' '  Hat- 
tie  and  Marie  met  two  ^  ^  good  catches. ' '  They 
were  young  men  who  had  been  college  mates 
—  Thomas  Kinston,  who  was  the  only  child 
of  a  wealthy  rice  and  sugar  planter  of  Lou- 
isiana, and  John  Winston,  who  was  the  only 
child  of  a  wealthy  cotton  planter  of  Alabama. 
Tom  and  John  had  attended  Yale  College  to- 
gether—had been  roommates  while  in  college, 
and  their  aJffection  for  each  other  was  beau- 

31 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


tiful— only  such  as  true  men  would  have  for 
each  other.  They  had  returned  home  to 
take  charge  of  their  fathers'  interests— one 
in  Louisiana  and  the  other  in  Alabama,  and 
some  day  to  become  heirs  of  the  fine  estates  of 
their  fathers.  In  the  sections  where  they  lived, 
they  were  considered  the  best  ** catches"  for 
the  girls.  The  girls  of  the  community  vied 
with  each  other  for  their  attentions,  and  it  is 
useless  to  sav  that  the  mothers  who  had  mar- 
riageable  daughters  did  the  usual  planning 
to  have  their  daughters  make  favorable  im- 
pressions upon  *'Tom"  and  *'John,*'  but  it 
was  readily  seen  by  all  at  the  ** Springs," 
when  Tom  and  John  met  Hattie  and  Marie, 
that  the  meeting  was  mutually  agreeable,  and 
that  Tom's  preference  was  for  Hattie  and 
John's  for  Marie.  It  was  soon  noticeable  to 
all  close  observers  that  these  friendships  were 
developing  into  more  than  the  mere  summer 
season,  and  the  mothers  who  had  marriage- 
able daughters,  who  were  at  the  ** Springs" 
for  the  purpose  of  meeting  available  oppor- 
tunities, soon  began  to  get  jealous  of  Hattie 
and  Marie  and  the  two  young  gentlemen,  and 
soon  began  to  make  the  usual  criticisms  as  to 

32 


SOME  HAPPY  DAYS  AT  SUMMER  HILL 

Hattie's  dress  and  to  Marie's  hat,  and  to 
Marie's  figure  and  Hattie's  voice  and  such 
other  criticisms  as  only  the  mind  of  woman 
can  conjecture.  And  when  with  the  ladies, 
these  kindly  mothers,  of  no  malignant  inten- 
tions, but  with  the  usual  jealousies  that 
belong  to  their  sex,  began  to  feel  that  John 
and  Tom  were  paying  too  much  attention  to 
Hattie  and  Marie  and  not  enough  to  their 
daughters,  who,  in  their  opinion,  were  much 
more  attractive;  then  they  began  to  pick 
flaws,  of  course,  as  to  Tom  and  John.  Mrs. 
Jones  could  occasionally  be  heard  to  say  ''she 
was  certainly  pleased  that  Mr.  Kinston  hadn't 
met  her  daughter,  Sarah."  *'I  would  not 
have  Sarah  to  meet  him  for  anything."  *'I 
think  his  manners  perfectly  disgusting;"  and 
Mrs.  Johnson,  who  was  seated  near  by,  quickly 
agreed  with  Mrs.  Jones.  ''You  are  correct, 
Mrs.  Jones,  I  don't  like  Mr.  Kinston,  neither 
do  I  like  that  other  fellow,  Mr.  Winston.  I 
have  given  instructions  to  Elizabeth  that  she 
must  not  meet  them."  ''Yes,  but,"  said  Mrs. 
Jones,  "I  saw  Elizabeth  talking  to  Mr.  Wins- 
ton last  evening."  "Yes,"  said  Mrs.  John- 
son, "but  as  soon  as  I  discovered  it,  I  told  her 

33 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


that  must  be  the  last  of  it."  Of  course  it  had 
to  be  the  last  of  it,  as  John  was  paying  his 
undivided  attention  to  Marie,  and  Tom  was 
paying  his  to  Hattie.  Capt.  John  Bell,  who 
had  been  a  life-long  friend  of  the  Shel- 
tons,  and  who  resided  near  them  at  Summer 
Hill,  was  at  the  *  ^  Springs, ' '  too,  and  a  man  of 
keen  observation,  as  the  Captain  was,  saw  that 
the  relations  developing  between  Hattie  and 
Mr.  Kinston  and  Marie  and  Mr.  Winston 
were  more  than  just  summer  season  relations, 
and  Mrs.  Shelton,  with  the  keen  intuition  of  a 
woman,  observed,  too,  that  Marie  was  fasci- 
nating to  Mr.  Winston,  and  that  Hattie  was 
taking  hold  of  the  heart  of  Mr.  Kinston ;  and 
when  they  returned  from  the  ^* Springs"  in 
the  fall  to  Summer  Hill,  she  did  not  make 
any  inquiries  of  the  girls  as  to  their  rela- 
tions with  Mr.  Winston  and  Mr.  Kinston,  but 
she  was  satisfied  that  ere  long  the  two  class- 
mates at  Yale  would  visit  Summer  Hill.  In 
this  she  was  not  to  be  disappointed. 


34 


CHAPTER  V 


A  DOUBLE  MARRIAGE 


AFTER  Mrs.  Shelton  and  the  girls  had 
returned  home  to  Summer  Hill,  it  was 
noticeable  that  Marie  and  Hattie 
watched  the  postoffice  closely,  and  daily  they 
received  the  letters  that  told  the  story  of  what 
the  understanding  was  at  the  Springs  between 
Hattie  and  Mr.  Kinston  and  Marie  and  Mr. 
Winston.  Each  letter  to  Marie  bore  the  post- 
mark of  Shellsboro,  Ala.,  for  that  was  the 
home  of  John;  and  each  letter  to  Hattie  had 
the  imprint  of  Tatesboro,  La.  Of  course,  the 
letters  were  enclosed  in  beautiful  envelopes 
selected  with  due  care,  and  the  very  shape, 
form  and  style  of  the  letters  were  evidences 
that  they  were  not  from  **lady  friends,"  but 
that  the  senders  had  a  purpose  that  is  never 
revealed  to  the  outside  world  but  always  kept 
secret  by  the  suitor  when  he  is  making  his 
first  advances  to  conquer  one  who  is  to  be  his 

35 


THE  EFFECT 


companion  in  life.  Hattie  and  Marie  made 
no  demonstration  over  the  reception  of  the 
letters— they  did  not  even  tell  Col.  and  Mrs. 
Shelton— for  girls,  yon  know,  when  they  are 
corresponding  with  gentlemen  friends  jnst  to 
correspond,  love  to  tell  it,  but  when  they  are 
corresponding  with  one  that  is  dear  to  the 
heart— the  longed-for  one— the  one  that  they 
hope  some  day  to  be  the  man  that  will  be 
the  ideal  and  the  hero  of  life,  always  keep 
their  feelings  to  themselves. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  state  that  Mr.  Kinston 
and  Mr.  Winston  had  a  mutual  understanding 
before  they  left  the  Springs  that  this  corre- 
spondence would  take  place,  for  each  told  the 
other  that  he  had  an  understanding  that  such 
was  to  be  the  case.  Mr.  Winston  had  Marie's 
solemn  promise  that  she  would  answer  his 
letters  and  she  had  his  solemn  promise  that 
he  would  visit  Summer  Hill. 

Mr.  Kinston,  while  strolling  on  the  lawn  at 
the  Springs  in  the  beautiful  moonlight  that 
quickened  the  soul  to  reveal  its  inner  self  to 
its  affinity,  secured  the  same  solemn  promise 
from  Hattie  that  she  would  answer  when  he 
wrote,  and  that  daily  he  should  hear  from  her 

36 


A  DOUBLE  MARRIAGE 


in  the  future,  and  that  at  Summer  Hill  they 
would  soon  meet  again.  Airs.  Shelton  and  Col. 
Shelton  observed  keenly  these  letters,  with 
that  interest  that  the  dutiful  father  and 
mother  always  have  in  the  future  welfare  of 
their  daughters. 

The  postmaster  at  Rocktite  observed,  too, 
that  letters  came  daily  to  Marie  and  Hattie— 
one  bearing  the  imprint  of  Shellsboro,  Ala., 
and  one  bearing  the  postmark  of  Tatesboro, 
La.  It  soon  became  the  gossip  of  Rocktite  that 
**the  Shelton  girls  were  engaged"— that 
'^  there  would  soon  be  a  marriage  at  Summer 
Hill."  Of  course,  this  rumor  soon  became 
a  part  of  the  information  and  knowledge  of 
all  of  the  mothers,  sisters  and  daughters  of 
Rocktite,  and  of  the  community  thereabout. 
Each  mother  and  each  daughter  who  were 
jealous  of  the  Shelton  girls  had  their  views 
and  their  comments  to  make,  even  though  they 
had  never  heard  of  either  Mr.  Winston  or  Mr. 
Kinston.  And,  of  course,  each  and  all  of  the 
girls  in  the  community  exchanged  views  as 
to  the  prospective  marriages  at  Summer  Hill, 
and  with  that  innate  jealousy  that  is  inborn 
in  every  female,  that  makes  the  female  sex 

37 


THE  STRUGGLE 


so  unkind  and  so  ungenerous  to  each  other,  the 
usual  unkind  remarks  were  made— of  course 
they  knew  nothing  of  Mr.  Kinston  and  Mr. 
Winston— they  did  not  even  know  their 
names,  but  they  had  heard  that  Marie  had 
a  sweetheart  in  Alabama,  and  that  Hattie 
had  a  lover  in  Louisana.  It  was  not  un- 
usual to  hear  the  comment  from  rival  mothers 
and  rival  girls  around  Eocktite  and  Summer 
Hill  that  *^I  understand  that  Marie  Shelton 
is  to  be  married  to  a  fellow  in  Alabama,  and 
they  are  doing  their  best  to  leave  the  im- 
pression that  he  is  rich,  but  as  a  matter  of 
fact  they  say  everything  his  father  has  got 
is  mortgaged;'*  and  when  the  rival  mothers 
and  jealous  girls  were  all  exchanging  visits, 
it  was  quite  frequent  to  hear  the  comments, 
**I  understand  that  Hattie  Shelton  is  to  be 
married  to  a  fellow  down  in  Louisiana.  It 
is  said  that  his  father  is  well  to  do,  but  that 
they  are  very  ordinary  people.''  The  com- 
ments went  the  rounds  of  Eocktite  and  the 
surrounding  community. 

In  due  time,  by  mutual  understanding,  Mr. 
Winston  and  Mr.  Kinston  visited  Summer 
Hill  together.    Their  first  visit  lasted  for  some 

38 


A  DOUBLE  MARRIAGE 


days.  The  yards  and  lawns  at  Summer  Hill 
were  sufficient  for  two  courtships.  The  beau- 
tiful oaks  were  there— the  vines  and  the  vine- 
yards were  there— the  flower  yards  were 
there— the  walks  leading  in  every  direction 
out  from  the  Shelton  home  made  it  an  ideal 
place  to  arouse  those  secret  and  inborn  emo- 
tions which  when  they  dominate  suppress  the 
human  and  arouse  the  divine— those  feelings 
which  draw  two  human  beings  together  and 
make  them  one. 

When  Mr.  Winston  and  Marie  were  taking 
their  quiet  walks  through  the  yards  at  Sum- 
mer Hill  in  one  direction  while  Mr.  Kins- 
ton  and  Hattie  were  strolling  in  another  di- 
rection, gently  and  quietly,  it  was  apparent  to 
Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  that  there  was  union 
in  this  fellowship.  They  watched  the  girls 
—they  watched  Mr.  Kinston  and  Mr.  Wins- 
ton—they had  seen  the  days  themselves  when 
they  had  feelings  like  these  and  they  recog- 
nized the  old  acquaintance  of  past  days.  Af- 
ter these  quiet  strolls,  when  Marie  would  be 
gently  leaning  on  the  arm  of  Mr.  Winston, 
and  Hattie 's  arm  would  be  politely  yet  warm- 
ly and  closely  held  by  Mr.  Kinston,  they  would 

39 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


return  to  the  large  double  parlors  in  tlie  Shel- 
ton  home  and  there  the  remainder  of  the  even- 
ing would  be  spent.  Marie,  giving  forth  by 
her  silent  expression  and  gentle,  timid,  yet 
earnest  look  to  Mr.  Winston,  that  he  was 
more  than  all  the  world  to  her,— for  she  by 
nature  was  a  lover— and  a  lover  loves  a  lover. 
In  this  she  found  her  counterpart,  for  Mr. 
Winston,  while  a  firm  and  strong  character, 
was  a  man  in  whom  back  of  all  of  his 
rugged  nature  and  back  of  all  of  his  firm  char- 
acter, back  of  all  of  his  masculine  being,  there 
moved  that  love  of  all  love.  Each  was  con- 
scious of  what  the  end  of  all  of  this  would  be 
before  Marie  ever  gently  laid  her  hand  in  his 
and  by  one  gentle  silent  look  promised,  *^I 
will,"  which,  of  course,  a  strong  masculine 
character  like  Winston,  whose  every  fiber  and 
every  impulse  was  dominated  by  love,  sealed 
with  a  gentle  and  divine  kiss.  From  the  mo- 
ment that  she  gave  him  this  look  and  said 
**I  will/'  and  he  sealed  it  with  the  Divinity 
expressed  by  a  human  kiss,  their  hearts  were 
one— each  felt  that  the  other  was  a  part  of 
each  other's  life— from  thence  henceforth  the 
union  was  perfect.  While  these  human  experi- 

40 


A  DOUBLE  MARRIAGE 


ences  were  developing  into  Divine  relations 
between  Marie  and  Mr.  Winston,  Hattie  had 
pledged  her  life  and  her  all  to  Mr.  Kinston, 
and  he,  the  less  romantic  character,  less 
humane  than  Winston,  had  accepted  her 
promise  by  telling  of  the  beautiful  home  that 
he  had  on  his  father's  estate  where  they  would 
spend  their  lives  and  where  their  union  would 
be  spent  in  each  other's  affections,  admiration 
and  love.  He  had  promised,  of  his  own  voli- 
tion, to  consecrate  his  life  to  her  happiness, 
her  wants  and  her  wishes. 

The  two  college  mates  at  Yale  left  Summer 
Hill  together— each  confided  to  the  other  his 
secret,  and  mutually  agreed  that  they  would 
make  their  next  visit  together,  at  which  time 
they  would  name  the  day  and  make  the  plans 
for  a  double  marriage.  In  the  meantime,  be- 
tween then  and  the  next  visit  to  Summer  ffill, 
that  they  would  exchange  letters  with  each 
other  and  confide  their  secrets  to  each  other. 

They  revisited  Summer  Hill  together,  and 
Hattie  and  Marie  agreed  that  it  would  be  a 
double  marriage— the  day  was  named— the 
time  was  fixed,  and  these  two  old  college 
mates,  loyal  and  true  to  each  other— each  hon- 

41 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


est,  firm  and  noble  in  cliaraeter,  would  be 
joined  to  the  ideal  and  idol  of  his  life.  At  the 
fixed  time  they  came  to  Summer  Hill  together 
—it  was  a  beautiful  scene— two  young  men, 
heirs  of  Eevolutionary  Fathers,  heirs  of  the 
men  who  founded  the  great  Eepublic— the  de- 
scendants of  a  great  race  who  for  centuries 
had  been  the  greatest  civilizers  the  world 
had  ever  seen— both  educated— both  refined 
and  cultured— both  patriotic— both  men  of 
intelligence,  who  had  the  proper  conceptions 
of  citizenship,  duty  to  God,  country,  home 
and  family.  They  had  now  reached  that 
point  in  life's  journey  where  its  most  solemn 
obligation  had  to  be  performed.  They  both 
were  conscious  of  what  this  obligation  meant 
—it  was  no  frivolity  with  them— they  knew 
it  meant  either  the  happiness  of  their  own 
lives,  the  happiness  of  two  other  souls,  or  the 
wrecking,  crushing  and  destruction  of  the 
souls  of  all  parties.  Capt.  Bell,  the  old  family 
friend  of  the  Sheltons,  was  there;  Mr.  John 
King,  an  old  college  mate  of  theirs  at  Yale, 
who  lived  in  New  York  city,  and  was  now  a 
promising  young  business  man  in  that  great 
metropolis,  had  been  invited  and  was  there. 

42 


A  DOUBLE  MARRIAGE 


Alex  Wilson,  the  most  promising  young  man 
of  that  community,  and  whose  family  had 
been  life-long  friends  to  the  Sheltons,  was 
there.  Several  of  the  Shelton  girls'  school- 
mate friends  were  there— and  all  of  Rocktite 
and  the  community  thereabout  was  there,  for 
on  occasions  like  this  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton 
had  no  favorites  with  their  own  neighbors  and 
all  were  invited.  The  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Curry,  was  there, 
quiet,  calm  and  godly  man  as  he  was— there 
to  make  two  human  beings  one— to  unite  two 
spirits,  if  not  their  bodies— the  souls  if  not 
their  minds— to  comply  with  the  Divine  order 
of  things— the  decree  that  carries  the  hu- 
man race  on  and  propagates  it.  He  was  there 
to  unite  the  immortal  and  to  make  two  souls 
one— united  for  time  and  for  eternity.  Amid 
these  scenes,  amid  hearts  rejoicing  and  tears 
shed  for  joy,  Winston  standing  firm  and  erect 
and  Kinston  quiet,  placid  and  determined— 
each  promised  this  man  of  God  in  the  presence 
of  the  assembled  witnesses  and  the  angels,  '*I 
will;'*  whereupon  the  Reverend  Doctor  said, 
**  According  to  the  Divine  injunction,  I  pro- 
nounce you  man  and  wife."     Mrs.  Shelton 

43 


THE  STRUGGLE 


was  the  first  to  place  her  arms  around  her  lov- 
ing daughters  and  with  tears  to  kiss  them 
good-hye.  Col.  Shelton,  firm  and  placid  as 
he  was,  quivered  as  he  embraced  them  and 
said  ^^ Good-bye, ''—it  was  a  beautiful  scene 
—a  scene  that  is  prompted  by  the  Divine  and 
not  the  human.  Winston  and  Kinston  with 
their  brides  took  the  next  train  which  arrived, 
for  their  bridal  tour  in  the  East.  After  the 
bridal  tour  Winston  and  Kinston  said  ^^  Good- 
bye" with  tears  in  their  eyes— they  shook 
hands  and  bid  each  other  godspeed  in  life. 
Marie  and  Hattie  embraced  each  other  with 
tender  love  and  wept  the  tears  of  broken 
hearts.  Winston  and  Marie  went  to  their 
home  in  Shellsboro,  and  Kinston  and  Hattie 
to  Tatesboro,  to  contend  with  the  struggles 
and  difficulties  of  life. 

Capt.  Bell  and  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton 
noticed  on  the  day  of  the  marriage  that  Mr. 
King,  of  New  York,  when  no  one  was  watch- 
ing him,  was  quietly  studying  Euth.  His 
glances  at  her  were  always  when  he  thought 
nobody  was  watching  him,  and  after  the  mar- 
riage was  over  and  the  friends  had  gone, 
discerning  as  Capt.  Bell  was,  he  remarked  to 

44 


A  DOUBLE  MARRIAGE 


Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  tliat  they  might  expect 
a  visit  from  Mr.  King. 

Mr.  King  was  not  the  only  one  who  was 
quietly  looking  into  the  heart  of  another. 
Young  Mr.  Wilson  was  there.  He  and  Grace 
had  played  together  when  children  in  school. 
They  had  grown  up  together  and  both  now 
had  developed  to  that  age  where  friendship 
in  childhood  frequently  becomes  love.  He 
had  thought  to  himself  many  things  which  he 
had  never  said,  and  the  sacred  and  beautiful 
scene  on  the  day  of  the  marriage  brought  re- 
sponse from  his  heart  that  no  one  knew  ex- 
cept himself,  and  as  he  looked  across  the 
drawing-room  while  the  man  of  God  was  per- 
forming the  ceremony,  and  there  stood  Grace, 
beautiful,  erect,  with  queenly  auburn  hair  that 
adjusted  itself  to  her  queenly  form ;  sparkling, 
twinkling  brown  eyes  that  spoke  the  inner 
feelings  of  her  soul— eyes  that  took  hold  of 
you  and  that  you  could  not  resist— that  bound 
you  tighter  than  chains,  for  they  were  irresist- 
ible because  they  carried  the  message  from 
one  soul  to  another  soul;  beautiful  creamy 
complexion;  a  form  that  almost  seemed  a 
revelation    Divine— his    very    soul    thirsted 

45 


THE  STRUGGLE 


within  him  for  her  companionship,  for  as  the 
sentiments  and  feelings  of  her  soul  spoke 
through  her  eyes  to  him  his  heart  leaped 
within  him— it  was  soul  speaking  to  soul. 


%6 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  A  TRUE  COURTSHIP 

AFTER  the  wedding  was  over  and  Kins- 
ton  and  his  bride  and  Winston  and  his 
bride  were  gone  on  their  love  feast— 
their  honeymoon,  and  the  guests  had  all  re- 
turned to  their  homes,  young  Wilson  sat  in 
his  room  at  his  father's  home  over  the  hill 
from  the  mansion  of  the  Sheltons,  thinking 
over  the  thoughts  that  flashed  through  his  soul 
as  he  looked  upon  the  fair  form  of  Grace  at 
the  wedding.  The  more  he  thought,  the  more 
beautiful  she  became  to  him.  In  his  room  all 
alone,  he  could  see,  in  his  mind's  eye,  her  long 
queenly  auburn  hair  adjusted  over  her  head 
and  falling  loosely  down  here  and  there  over 
her  neck ;  the  flash  of  her  soft  dark  brown  eyes 
that  spoke  the  very  thoughts  of  her  soul ;  the 
smile  that  played  over  her  blushing  face,  and 
the  dimple  here  and  there  in  her  rosy  cheeks 
—and  her  plump  and  beautiful  form,  for  she 

47 


THE  STRUGGLE 


stood  five  feet  and  seven  inches  and  weighed 
one  hundred  and  forty-five  pounds.  All  of 
these  were  visible  to  him.  Absent  from  her  in 
the  body,  yet  in  spirit  he  was  with  her.  And 
as  he  sat  there  alone  in  his  room  thinking  over 
his  thoughts,  his  heart  went  out  for  her— he 
desired  her— he  longed  for  her.  Fight  against 
it  as  he  might,  he  could  not  rid  himself  of  her. 
That  vivacious  form,  through  whose  veins  her 
warm  and  thrilling  blood  coursed,  that  made 
her  every  expression,  movement  and  thought 
breathe  with  life ;  those  deep  brown  eyes  that 
spoke  the  inner  feelings  of  her  soul,  the  smile 
that  played  over  her  face  and  gave  expres- 
sion to.  her  heart's  feelings— all  haunted  him 
—they  had  become  a  part  of  his  life.  Eest 
he  could' not- sleep  he  could  not— her  viva- 
cious, living  animated  form  was  ever  in  his 
mind's  eye.  The  next  evening  found  him  in 
the  home  of  the  Sheltons,  for  his  family  re- 
lations with  the  Sheltons  were  such  that  he 
did  not  need  any  formal  **  engagement" 
to  call.  Somehow  Grace  expected  him. 
She  did  not  know  why.  She  had  no  reason 
except  woman's  intuition,  and  she  was  con- 
scious of  Alex's  thoughts,  feelings  and  de- 

48 


BEGINNING  OF  A  TRUE  COURTSHIP 

sires  on  the  wedding  day,  for  she  caught  his 
eye  as  he  quietly  and  silently  looked  upon 
her,  and  with  the  intuition  of  a  woman  she 
read  his  thoughts.  She  was  dressed  and  ready 
to  receive  him.  Her  queenly,  solid  and  com- 
pact form  wore  a  white  silk  dress  with  the 
usual  evening  parlor  trail,  with  short  sleeves 
and  low  neck.  Carefully  adjusted  was  the 
bunch  of  roses  resting  at  the  proper  place. 
Her  heavy  suit  of  auburn  hair  seemed  to  hang 
a  little  loose  here  and  there.  Her  cheeks  were 
so  fair  that  they  were  creamy,  and  as  her 
young,  warm  blood  coursed  through  her  veins 
she  glowed  with  vitality  and  life,  and  when 
she  extended  her  hand  to  welcome  him,  his 
very  heart  leaped  within  him.  The  moon  was 
shining  beautifully  and  it  seemed  to  be  kissing 
Mother  Earth  and  breathing  life  into  every 
oak  and  vine  and  all  animated  matter  at  Sum- 
mer Hill.  Grace  and  Alex  were  soon  seated 
together  on  the  lounge  near  the  big  bay  win- 
dow in  the  parlor.  They  were  soon  deeply  en- 
gaged in  earnest  conversation  as  to  what  took 
place  on  the  day  of  the  wedding.  Alex,  with 
good  tact,  spoke  of  how  beautifully  the  two 
brides,  Marie  and  Hattie,  looked— all  the  time 

49 


MB 


THE  STRUGGLE 


his  eye  cast  upon  Grace's  low-necked  dress 
and  beautiful  roses.  Apparently  he  was  in- 
terested in  all  of  the  Shelton  family,  but  Grace 
was  conscious  that  he  was  interested  in  one 
of  the  Shelton  family.  They  chatted  of  their 
childhood  days— of  school  days— of  boyhood 
and  girlhood  days.  They  discussed  music, 
books  and  authors,  and  all  of  the  recent  nov- 
els. Grace  handed  him  the  telegrams  that 
Marie  and  Hattie  had  sent  them  while  on 
their  bridal  tour,  to  read.  All  the  time  he  was 
moving  by  degrees  a  little  nearer  her,  and 
she,  conscious  of  his  touch,  was  quietly  lean- 
ing from  him.  But  when  the  hour  had  ar- 
rived sufficiently  late  for  him  to  go,  both  were 
conscious  of  the  warmth  of  each  other's 
touch.  From  the  parlor  they  quietly  strolled 
to  the  wide  veranda  of  the  Shelton  home. 
There  in  the  moonlight  by  the  large  center 
post  under  the  big  front  oak  and  all  alone,  he 
extended  his  hand  to  say  ^^ good-bye,"  and  as 
he  tenderly  took  hold  of  her  soft  white  hand  he 
felt  the  current  of  her  soul  darting  through 
his  very  being,  and  as  he  gently  and  tenderly 
squeezed  her  hand,  she  timidly  resisted,  and 
with  his  sense  of  touch  alive  to  her  sense  of 

50 


BEGINNING  OF  A  TRUE  COURTSHIP 

touch,  he  could  feel  her  quiver  and  see  her 
eyes  open  and  close  with  silent  emotion.  And 
as  he  gave  her  hand  a  last  gentle  squeeze  and 
said  **  good-bye, '^  her  soft  and  quivering 
voice  said  *^Good  night,  call  again/'  *^This 
has  been  a  happy  evening  to  me,"  said  he. 
**I  shall  call  next  Sunday  evening  if  agree-- 
able.''  **I  will  be  pleased  to  have  you,"  said 
Grace  with  a  modest  voice.  He  strolled  slow- 
ly up  the  hill  home  with  a  thousand  thoughts 
and  feelings  battling  within  him.  She  closed 
the  door  and  went  to  her  room,  conscious  of 
the  feelings  that  were  awakened  within  her— 
feelings  that  she  could  not  describe  or  de- 
fine—inexpressible emotions  of  which  the  soul 
is  conscious. 


51 


\ 


CHAPTER  VII 


YOUNG  WILSON 's  NEXT  VISIT 

AS  time  passed,  young  Wilson  thought  of 
the  time  when  he  was  to  pay  his  next 
visit.  It  seemed  a  long  time  to  him. 
But  on  that  evening  he  dressed  to  the  best 
possible  advantage,  and  at  eight  o'clock  he 
was  slowly  strolling  over  the  hill  to  the  Shel- 
ton  home,  puffing  his  cigar  and  thinking- 
thinking  of  how  Grace  looked  the  last  time 
he  was  there— thinking  of  how  beautifully  her 
silk  dress  enveloped  her  plump  form— think- 
ing of  how  the  roses  were  pinned  across  her 
low-necked  dress,  thinking  of  her  golden  hair 
and  the  touch  of  her  soft  hand  as  he  bid  her 
good  night.  As  he  entered  the  gate  to  the 
front  of  the  yard  at  the  Shelton  home,  these 
thoughts  were  all  flashing  through  his  mind 
and  arousing  the  emotions  of  his  being. 

While  these  thoughts  were  flashing  through 
his  mind  and  playing  upon  his  soul  as  he 

52 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  NEXT  VISIT 

strolled  over  the  hill  from  his  home,  Grace 
was  completing  her  toilet  to  receive  him,  ar- 
ranging her  golden  hair  and  her  low-necked 
dress  and  placing  the  flowers  at  the  proper 
place  and  thinking,  too,  thinking  of  the  feel- 
ings that  animated  her.  on  the  last  evening 
they  were  together,  thinking  of  the  emotions 
that  flashed  over  her  soul  as  he  squeezed  her 
hand  and  said  '^good-bye."  Somehow  she  felt 
that  these  feelings  were  a  joy  to  her  soul  that 
could  only  be  produced  by  Alex— a  joy  that 
was  inexpressible.  No  one  except  Alex  had 
ever  produced  these  same  feelings  and  emo- 
tions within  her.  She  was  conscious  that  there 
was  an  irresistible  affinity  between  them,  and 
as  she  thought  over  these  feelings  and  emo- 
tions, the  bell  to  the  front  door  rang  and 
young  Wilson  was  there.  Down  the  stairs 
Grace  went  with  the  long  trail  to  her  white 
gown  sweeping  the  floor,  her  golden  hair 
hanging  rather  low  down  the  back  of  her  neck, 
her  round  plump  arms  extended  beyond  her 
short  sleeves,  head  erect  and  stepping  with 
the  vitality  and  life  of  her  young  and  warm 
blood.  She  swung  the  door  open  and  extend- 
ed her  soft  white  hand.    ^  ^  Good  evening,  Mr. 

53 


THE  STRUGGLE 


Wilson,"  said  she;  *' delighted  to  see  you." 
He  grasped  her  hand  with  a  gentle  touch.  **I 
am  delighted,"  said  he,  and  as  he  held  her 
hand  for  a  gentle  shake,  she  said,  **  Come  in." 
It  was  a  generous  welcome,  of  that  kind  that 
makes  you  feel  that  you  are  really  wanted 
—not  an  empty  formality.  Alex  felt  that 
it  was  a  heart  welcoming  another  heart— that 
it  was  heart  going  out  to  heart— that  he  was 
in  communion  with  his  own  affinity.  Every 
pulsation  of  his  heart  beat  with  response,  and 
in  he  stepped  with  an  expression  of  joy  play- 
ing over  his  face  as  he  looked  upon  her  smil- 
ing countenance,  her  twinkling  soft  brown 
eyes  and  her  perfect  figure.  While  extending 
one  hand  to  her,  he  closed  the  door  with  the 
other  and  they  slowly  strolled  into  the  par- 
lor, and  on  the  long  lounge  near  the  big  bay 
window  they  were  soon  seated  side  by  side. 
Grace  turned  her  face  toward  him  beaming 
with  vitality  and  life.  '^I  believe  we  sat  right 
here  when  you  were  here  last  evening." 
'^Yes,"  saidhe,^' and  the  moon  was  shining  in 
at  this  window  then,  but  it  is  a  pleasant  place 
anyway."  ^^Yes,  I  frequently  sit  here  with 
my  friends,"  said  Grace,  *^and  often  I  come 

54 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  NEXT  VISIT 

down  into  the  parlor  and  sit  here  and  watch 
the  people  pass,  and  study  human  faces,  and 
I  have  been  down  here  watching  and  studying 
them  since  you  were  here. ' ' 

While  she  was  speaking,  young  Wilson  was 
moving  closer  to  her  and  facing  her  directly, 
looking  into  her  soft,  deep  brown  eyes  and 
grasping  her  inner  thoughts— he  saw  a  chance 
to  get  on  little  closer  terms— to  give  an  ex- 
pression as  to  what  he  felt  and  to  get  an  ex- 
pression as  to  what  she  felt.  ^'Are  those  the 
only  people  of  whom  you  have  thought  since 
I  was  here!  Really,  while  it  is  interesting  to 
study  human  faces  in  general,  I  would  have 
thought  that  you  had  some  one  human  face 
that  would  interest  you  to  study."  **0h,  of 
course,**  said  she,  **when  I  would  be  down 
here,  I  could  not  help  but  think  of  the  pleas- 
ant evening  we  spent  here  last  time  you 
were  here."  This  gave  him  new  courage, 
and  he  quietly  turned  so  as  to  face  her  a  little 
better  and  moved  a  little  nearer  her.  **That 
is  so  kind  of  you,"  said  he.  '*You  can  say 
such  appreciative  things— things  that  no  one 
else  could  think  of.  You  don't  know  how 
much  good  that  did  me."    All  the  time  he 

55 


THE  STRUGGLE 


was  gently  leaning  a  little  closer  to  her. 
She  could  see  the  earnestness  of  his  face 
and  hear  it  in  his  voice  as  he  spoke. 
''I  am  so  glad,  it  always  does  me  good 
to  make  others  feel  good/'  said  she,  with 
a  smile  playing  over  her  face,  and  quietly  mov- 
ing the  ruffles  of  her  dress  and  quietly  read- 
justing the  bunch  of  roses  on  her  low-necked 
dress.  He  kept  looking  at  the  roses— first 
glancing  at  them  and  into  her  face.  She  was 
conscious  of  the  attraction  to  him.  ^^Do  you 
like  themT'  said  she.  ^^Oh,  they  are  beauti- 
ful," said  he.  **You  arrange  them  so  beauti- 
fully, and  they  are  so  in  keeping  with  the 
color  of  your  dress  and  your  complexion." 
**I  am  so  glad  you  like  them,"  said  she,  ^*I  am 
so  fond  of  flowers."  Of  course  this  was  a 
generous  invitation  for  young  Wilson  to  re- 
member for  the  future,  and  he  generously, 
from  time  to  time,  responded  to  it.  '^Eeally 
I  think  that  your  dress  this  evening,  your  flow- 
ers and  all  are  so  in  keeping  with  each  other, ' ' 
said  he. 

By  this  time  he  had  quietly  changed  his 
glance  from  the  flowers  and  her  soft  eyes  to 
her  golden  locks  that  were  hanging  somewhat 

56 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  NEXT  VISIT 

loosely  around  her  beautiful  neck  and  falling 
here  and  there  over  her  forehead.  * *I  declare, 
you  have  beautiful  hair,"  said  he,  and  it  was 
an  exclamation  from  his  heart,  a  feeling  that 
he  felt  so  deeply  that  he  could  not  resist  it. 
*^Do  you  really  think  so,"  said  she.  *^I  cer- 
tainly do."  ^^That  is  so  kind  of  you."  **You 
know,  I  think, ' '  said  he,  *  *  that  a  beautiful  suit 
of  hair  does  more  to  make  a  queenly  woman 
than  anything  on  earth.  It  is  more  than 
form,  figure,  expression  or  dress,  and  espe- 
cially a  beautiful  suit  of  golden  auburn  hair 
like  yours.  I  know  that  I  could  not  flatter  you 
and  I  do  not  wish  to,  but  there  are  ladies  that 
would  give  millions  for  those  golden  locks  of 
yours."  **I  am  afraid  you  are  too  generous 
in  your  remarks,"  said  she.  **0h,  no,  I  mean 
every  word  of  it  and  I  do  Jiot  overdraw  the 
picture,  for  in  reality  I  think  you  have  the 
most  beautiful  suit  of  hair  I  ever  saw  grace 
the  form  of  woman."  It  was  apparent  that 
the  usual  susceptibility  of  the  female  had 
been  affected,  that  beauty  is  her  power  and 
her  strength,  and  that  these  words  had 
the  desired  effect  upon  Grace.  They 
were  worth  more   to   her   than   silver   and 

57 


THE  STRUGGLE 


gold.  They  gave  her  heart  more  gratification 
than  all  the  silver  and  gold.  By  this  time 
young  Wilson,  casting  his  eye  from  her  gold- 
en locks  down  by  the  beautiful  bunch  of  roses, 
looked  on  her  soft  white  hands— one  care- 
lessly resting  in  her  lap  with  the  glittering 
diamonds  upon  her  finger,  the  other  rest- 
ing at  ease  upon  the  lounge  by  him.  ^*  These 
are  beautiful  rings  that  you  have  on, ' '  said  he. 
*^I  don't  believe  that  I  have  seen  them  be- 
fore. "  '  *  Why,  I  have  had  them  a  long  time, ' ' 
said  she.  ^*As  much  as  we  have  been  to- 
gether, haven't  you  noticed  them  until  nowT' 
* '  Oh,  I  may  have  noticed  them, ' '  said  he,  *  *  but 
they  never  attracted  my  attention  as  they  do 
now,  when  the  light  is  shining  upon  them. 
They  are  magnificent.  Why,  they  are  the  fin- 
est diamonds  I  ever  saw,"  said  he,  all  the 
time  quietly  moving  his  hand  to  her  hand 
and  taking  hold  of  the  finger  upon  which  the 
diamonds  were,  softly  feeling  of  her  finger 
while  pretending  to  look  at  the  diamonds, 
while  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  was  looking  at  her 
soft  hand.  She  teasingly  looked  him  in  the 
face,  all  the  time  smiling.  ^ '  I  declare  they  are 
beautiful,"  said  he.  By  this  time  he  had  her 

58 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  NEXT  VISIT 

hand  in  his,  and  drawing  it  nearer  to  him  pre- 
tended to  look  at  the  diamonds,  but  she  was 
conscious  of  his  gentle  touch  and  squeeze  of 
the  hand.  She  permitted  him  to  raise  her  hand 
without  resistance,  but  as  he  pulled  it  nearer 
him  and  squeezed  a  little  tighter,  she  teasingly 
looked  at  him  and  said,  ^^Do  you  really  admire 
them?'*  at  the  same  time  pulling  her  hand 
away  from  him.  He  held  gently  to  it  and  pre- 
tended to  make  further  inquiries  as  to  the  dif- 
ferent shapes  of  the  rings.  Of  course  she 
knew  it  was  not  the  diamonds  that  he  was  so 
interested  in,  but  the  hand  that  wore  them, 
and  looking  at  him  teasingly  said,  **0h,  I  sup- 
pose you  have  seen  enough  of  them,"  and 
gently  pulled  her  hand  away  and  let  it  rest 
near  him  on  the  lounge.  He  changed  his  po- 
sition and  drawing  a  little  nearer  her  face 
said,  '*I  declare,  those  loose  locks  of  yours 
are  so  beautiful. '*  Moving  his  hand  toward 
her  he  gently  touched  them,  and  she  teasingly 
leaned  a  little  away  from  him  and  smiled,  with 
her  eyes  cast  downward.  It  was  a  smile  while 
made  with  the  form  of  a  protest,  yet  in  reality 
was  intended  for  an  invitation  to  repeat  the 
gentle  act.    Leaning  a  little  more  toward  her, 

59 


THE  STRUGGLE 


*^I  declare  I  do  admire  those  locks  so  much/' 
and  here  he  gently  stroked  them  again,  let- 
ting his  finger  touch  her  forehead  gently  as  he 
moved  his  fingers  through  her  waving  locks. 
She  smiled  and  looked  downward,  and  he, 
moving  his  other  hand,  quietly  took  hold  of 
her  other  hand  that  was  resting  on  the  lounge. 
She  moved  it  with  a  gentle  protest.  He  held 
it  a  little  tighter.  She  moved  it  again,  but  a 
little  weaker  this  time.  He  held  it  a  little 
tighter,  and  she  left  it  in  his.  "With  her  hand 
resting  in  his  and  he  gently  closing  his  upon 
it  with  a  soft  squeeze,  and  his  other  hand 
gently  and  tenderly  touching  her  forehead 
and  moving  her  golden  locks,  he  moved  a  little 
nearer  her.  She  dropjDed  her  head  a  little  and 
smiled  the  smile  both  of  protest  and  of  sur- 
render. Both  feelings  were  battling  within 
her,  but  as  he  squeezed  her  hand  a  little  tight- 
er and  touched  her  forehead  and  locks  with  a 
little  more  feeling,  the  emotions  of  surrender 
conquered  the  emotions  of  j)rotest,  and  she 
leaned  a  little  toward  him  and  dropped  her 
eyes  and  said  nothing.  It  was  the  communion 
of  the  affinities.  He  spoke  not— neither  did 
she,  but  both  communed  with  each  other.    He 

60 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  NEXT  VISIT      ' 

looked  at  the  clock  in  the  parlor  and  saw  that 
the  time  had  arrived  that  he  should  go.  He 
feelingly  and  sympathetically  looked  into  her 
eyes  and  said,  ^^It  is  now  eleven  o'clock  and 
I  mnst  go. ' '  It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  been 
here  only  a  few  minutes.  I  regret  to  leave.  It 
has  been  such  a  happy  evening. ' '  She  raised 
her  drooping  eyes  and  looked  at  him  and 
smiled  the  smile  of  the  surrendered.  He  then, 
squeezing  her  hand  tighter  and  placing  his 
other  hand  firmly  against  her  forehead  and 
golden  locks,  said,  **I  declare  I  hate  to  leave 
you."  She  said  nothing,  but  her  drooping 
eyes  closed  again  and  she  sobbed  gently  with 
emotion.  He  looked  into  her  face  again  and 
said,  *^I  declare  I  hate  to  leave."  As  she 
raised  her  drooping  eyes,  and  while  she  spoke 
not,  she  said  with  the  expression  of  her  droop- 
ing eyes  as  she  raised  them  that  he  could  not 
misunderstand,  ^ 'I hate  to  see  you  leave,  too." 
He  arose  from  the  lounge  with  her  hand  in  his. 
He  looked  into  her  face,  and  her  eyes  met  his. 
Her  eyes  dropped  again  with  the  expression 
of  surrender,  and  with  a  final  squeeze  of  her 
soft  hand,  he  said,  ^^Well,  I  must  say  good 
night.    May  I  come  Tuesday  evening r'  Eais- 

61 


THE  STRUGGLE 


ing  her  soft  eyes,  she  looked  into  his.  '*Yoii 
know  you  can."  "With  this  farewell  look  and 
with  another  gentle  squeeze  of  her  hand,  he 
left. 

As  he  strolled  over  the  hill  home  he  was 
conscious  of  a  thousand  feelings  and  emo- 
tions. As  she  went  to  her  room  she  was  con- 
scious of  her  affinity— of  a  new  life  awakened. 


62 

'.  I.  \  . 


CHAPTER  Vin 


TOUNG  Wilson's  kepeated  visits,  and  his  tri- 
umphant VISIT 

AT  the  appointed  time  young  Wilson 
found  himself  again  in  the  parlor  of 
the  Shelton  home.  Evening  after  even- 
ing and  week  after  week  these  visits  were  re- 
peated. The  long  lounge  by  the  big  bay  win- 
dow was  the  favorite  place  for  him  and  Grace. 
Here  they  sat  evening  after  evening  and  week 
after  week,  communing  with  each  other— spir- 
its of  a  kindred  kind— one  in  thoughts,  one  in 
feelings.  It  is  unnecessary  to  state  what  took 
place  there.  If  the  old  lounge  could  talk,  it 
would  tell  the  story  of  the  two  affinities— of 
two  souls  going  out  to  each  other  until  they  be- 
came one  in  union.  Evening  after  evening 
these  two  souls  communed  with  each  other  as 
one  living  pulsating  life.  No  cold  under- 
standing, no  chill  freezing,  premeditated 
agreement  j  yet  they  knew  the  longings,  the  de- 

63 


THE  STRUGGLE 


sires  and  the  yearnings  of  eacli  other.  As  the 
evenings  and  weeks  passed,  these  longings 
and  yearnings  grew  stronger  and  deeper,  the 
communion  closer.  They  understood  each 
other.  They  were  one  in  thoughts,  one  in  feel- 
ings and  one  in  desires. 

After  these  two  spirits  had  communed  with 
each  other  week  after  week,  seated  on  the  old 
lounge  near  the  big  bay  window,  the  weather 
became  too  cold  to  sit  that  far  from  the  large 
fireplace  in  the  parlor,  and  each  felt  that  the 
desires  and  feelings  that  each  had  for  the 
other  should  be  expressed  to  each  other.  Their 
affinities  were  so  perfect  that  it  was  misery  to 
conceal  their  feelings  from  each  other,  for 
there  is  no  joy  like  the  joys  of  affinities,  mak- 
ing a  confession  to  each  other.  Grace  de- 
sired this  expression,  no  matter  how  she  might 
protest.  He  wanted  to  disclose  it,  for  his 
whole  being  was  overcharged.  And  to  declare 
it  he  must. 

It  was  a  gloomy,  dreary  evening.  The  snow 
had  been  falling  all  day  long,  and  as  night  ap- 
proached it  shrouded  Mother  Earth  and  the 
heavens  in  darkness,  and  dreary  rain  began 
to  fall  which  was  soon  converted  into  heavy 

64 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  TRIUMPHANT  VISIT 

sleet.  He  dressed  as  usual  and  began  to  plod 
his  way  through  the  snow  and  sleet  to  the 
Shelton  home.  It  was  the  night  of  his  regular 
** engagement."  Miss  it  he  could  not,  for  he 
lived  from  one  engagement  to  another  think- 
ing over  what  had  happened  on  the  last 
evening  and  what  would  happen  on  the  next 
evening.  She  was  in  his  mind— a  living,  pres- 
ent being.  As  he  plodded  his  way  through  the 
snow  and  sleet,  he  thought  of  the  evenings  that 
had  gone  by  and  he  was  conscious  of  what  the 
future  evenings  meant. 

Grace  was  in  the  parlor  early  this  evening, 
more  beautiful  than  ever.  The  chill  of  the 
cold  atmosphere  seemed  to  make  her  cheeks 
glow  with  more  vitality  and  life,  her  golden 
auburn  hair,  well  arranged,  seemed  to  hang 
a  little  more  queenly  than  ever,  for  here  and 
there  a  golden  lock  was  hanging  loose,  chal- 
lenging the  admiration  of  every  heart  that 
loved  queenly  beauty.  Her  dreamy,  soft 
brown  eyes  sparkled  with  life  and  devotion. 
Her  gown  tightly  fitted  her  compact  form,  and 
her  voice  vibrated  with  the  music  of  love.  As 
she  stood  by  the  large  fireplace,  she  looked  at 
the  old  lounge  by  the  big  bay  window,  and 

65 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


emotions  of  the  evenings  spent  there  took 
possession  of  her  being,  and  then  she  walked 
to  the  window  and  looked  ont  toward  the  front 
gate  into  the  snow  and  where  the  sleet  was 
falling,  into  the  cold  dreary  night  which  had 
enveloped  and  shrouded  Mother  Earth  with 
its  gloom  and  darkness  and  she  wondered  if 
he  was  coming.  As  she  stood  there  all  alone 
thinking  over  her  thoughts  to  herself,  her 
soul  speaking  to  her  sonl,  *'It  is  an  awful 
dreary  evening,  but  somehow  I  believe  he  will 
come,''  said  she.  Then  quietly  turning,  she 
walked  to  the  large  piano  and  began  to  play 
and  to  sing  '*Home,  Sweet  Home." 

As  Alex  approached  the  front  gate,  he 
heard  her  sweet  voice  vibrating  with  the  very 
music  of  heaven,  and  it  seemed  to  arouse  all 
that  was  good  within  him  and  to  thrill  the 
best  sentiments  of  his  being.  *  ^  Oh,  what  home 
would  be  with  her  in  it, ' '  he  thought  and  said 
to  himself.  Then  approaching  the  front  door 
he  rang  the  bell  and  Grace  heard  him,  for 
while  seemingly  interested  in  her  music,  she 
was  in  mind  listening  for  the  bell  of  the  front 
door  to  ring.  In  a  moment  she  was  there. 
*  ^  Come  in,  come  in  out  of  the  cold,  so  glad  to 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  TRIUMPHANT  VISIT 

see  you,'*  said  she.  It  was  the  ring  of  the 
voice  that  would  make  brave  men  walk  over 
beds  of  coals  of  fire  to  win  and  to  conquer. 
She  extended  her  hand  generously  and  im- 
pulsively. It  had  the  movement  of  life,  vital- 
ity and  earnestness.  He  grasped  it  with  the 
clasp  of  a  true  man— with  sincerity.  *'It  is 
a  bad  night  but  I  could  not  stay  away,''  said 
he.  He  closed  the  door  behind  him.  ^^Hang 
up  your  hat  and  overcoat  and  come  to  the  fire, 
for  I  know  you  are  cold, ' '  said  she.  They  then 
strolled  to  the  parlor  and  in  a  moment  were 
seated  on  the  small  settee  in  the  corner  near 
the  large  fireplace.  **It  is  an  awfully  dreary 
evening,  but  somehow  I  felt  you  were  com- 
ing," said  she,  **and  I  have  had  a  good  fire 
made  early  so  as  to  have  the  parlor  warm  and 
comfortable."  Alex,  rubbing  his  hands  and 
extending  them  toward  the  fire,  giving  evi- 
dence of  his  appreciation  of  her  thoughtful- 
ness,  and  looking  at  her  gently  and  tenderly, 
said,  ^^That  is  so  thoughtful  of  you.  You  can 
think  of  more  good  for  others  than  any  one 
that  I  ever  knew.  Eeally,  as  T  approached  the 
front  gate  and  looked  into  the  parlor  through 
the  window  and  saw  the  fire  and  the  comfort- 

67 


THE  STRUGGLE 


able  room,  and  lieard  tlie  music  and  your 
voice,  I  had  a  keener  and  a  better  apprecia- 
tion than  ever  before  of  the  sacredness  of 
home— its  love,  and  the  dear  women  who 
make  the  homes  of  the  land  what  they  are. 
I  could  not  help  as  I  approached  the  front 
gate  in  this  cold  and  looked  into  this  warm 
and  comfortable  parlor,  but  contrast  the 
thoughts  and  the  sweetness  of  the  true  homes 
of  the  land  with  the  outer  world.  I  thought 
tonight  how  many  poor,  unfortunate  beings  in 
the  great  cities  are  without  homes,  with- 
out fire,  without  shelter  and  without  food,  and 
out  on  the  great  highways  how  many  of  the 
poor  fellows  are  hungry  and  cold,  and  in 
the  humble  cabins  how  many  of  the  poor  and 
unfortunate  have  not  fire,  food  or  comfort- 
able clothing,  and  as  I  drew  this  contrast  in 
my  own  mind,  I  had  a  better  conception  and  a 
better  appreciation  of  liome  and  all  of  its 
comforts  and  sacredness,  and  I  thought  after 
all  that  the  homes  and  the  true  women  of  the 
land  make  men  what  they  are,  and  the  coun- 
try what  it  is.'^  Grace,  drawing  toward  him, 
evidenced  by  her  expression  of  interest  that 
she  appreciated  his  feelings.    *  ^  Why,  you  are 

68 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  TRIUMPHANT  VISIT 

an  orator,"  said  she.  ^'That  would  make  a 
good  speech  for  a  Fourth  of  July  celebra- 
tion or  a  college  commencement.  I  didn^t 
know  that  you  had  the  elements  of  oratory 
to  such  an  extent.''  *^0h,  it  is  not  oratory. 
I  am  no  orator,  but  I  am  simply  telling  you 
the  feelings  that  your  music  and  your  voice 
and  this  beautiful  home  and  comfortable  par- 
lor inspired  in  me  as  I  approached  this  home.  '* 
*^I  am  so  glad  that  you  feel  thus.  All  we  get 
out  of  life  anyway  is  what  we  give  to  others, '  ^ 
said  she.  *  ^  That  is  true, ' '  said  he.  ^  *  The  cold, 
selfish  being  who  is  drawing  unto  himself  all 
the  time  and  giving  out  nothing  does  not  get 
anything  out  of  this  life."  *^That  is  right," 
said  she.  '  *  If  I  know  my  own  self  I  am  only 
happy  when  I  am  making  others  happy. ' '  By 
this  time  Alex  was  comfortably  warm  and 
keenly  appreciated  the  situation.  Sitting 
close  to  her  on  the  small  settee,  he  began 
to  feel  the  inspiration  and  impulse  of  her 
touch,  and  although  unconscious  of  it,  his 
eyes  were  glancing  over  her  from  head  to  foot 
—first  at  her  golden  auburn  hair,  then  at  the 
locks  that  were  hanging  loosely  here  and 
there,  then  looking  at  her  beautiful  soft  hands, 

69 


THE  STRUGGLE 


then  glancing  into  her  dreamy,  soft  and  deep 
brown  eyes,  then  with  another  glance  taking 
in  her  whole  compact  form.  As  he  sat  there 
beholding  her  with  all  of  her  beauty  and  mag- 
netism, a  thousand  thoughts  flashed  through 
his  mind.  A  thousand  emotions  and  feelings 
battled  within  him  for  supremacy,  and  uncon- 
scious of  the  fact,  he  had  quietly  let  his  hand 
touch  hers  and  then  had  gently  placed  her 
hand  within  his,  she,  of  course,  at  first  pull- 
ing it  slightly  loose  and  then  letting  it  rest 
in  his,  and  as  his  feelings  and  emotions  con- 
tinned  to  arouse  within  him,  looking  deeply 
into  her  dreamy  eyes,  he  said,  **I  declare,  you 
are  so  beautiful.  Those  eyes  of  yours  take 
hold  of  my  very  being."  She  said  nothing, 
but  smiled  the  smile  of  willingness— of  con- 
tentment ;  then  he,  moving  his  other  hand  to 
her  forehead,  gently  touched  her  flowing  locks. 
'*I  declare,  you  have  such  queenly  hair— it  is 
so  beautiful,''  said  he  with  all  the  emotion 
of  his  being.  She,  smiling,  said,  ^  ^  Do  you  like 
itr'  '*0h,  you  know  I  do,"  said  he,  gently 
pulling  her  hand  toward  him.  As  he  moved 
his  hand  over  her  forehead,  her  eyes  closed 
with  the  consciousness  of  self  surrender.    He 

70 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  TRIUMPHANT  VISIT 

gently  moved  closer  to  her  and  drew  her 
nearer,  and  grasping  her  hand  tighter,  he 
laid  his  hand  containing  her  hand  in  his  lap. 
She  gently  protested  hy  attempting  to  with- 
draw it,  hut  as  he  squeezed  it  tighter  and 
clasped  it  with  a  grasp  of  earnestness,  she 
ceased  to  attempt  to  withdraw  it  and  let  it  re- 
main with  the  rest  of  surrender.  Then  he, 
with  a  feeling  of  tenderness  and  earnestness, 
gently  placed  his  other  hand  over  her  hrow 
and  leant  toward  her,  at  the  same  time  gently 
pulling  her  toward  him.  She  quietly  and  hes- 
itatingly leaned  backward,  yet  as  he  pressed 
her  hand  and  moved  his  other  hand  gently 
over  her  forehead,  she  ceased  to  resist  with 
the  contentment  of  surrender. 

**I  declare,  this  is  such  a  happy  moment  to 
me,''  said  he,  and  laying  her  head  on  his 
shoulder,  she  dropped  her  eves,  and  throbbing 
with  emotion,  said,  *^Don't— quit— please  '  n^^ 
don't,''  all  the  time  her  emotions  battling 
within  her.  She  had  conquered  herself  and 
was  willing  to  surrender.  He  tenderly  placed 
his  cheek  against  hers.  She  closed  her  eyes 
and  heaved  and  sighed  with  the  feelings  of 
surrender  as  he  closed  his  hand  tighter  over 

71 


THE  STRUGGLE 


hers.  She  quivered  with  emotions  and  feel- 
ings that  she  could  not  suppress,  and  as  he 
ruhbed  his  other  hand  gently  over  her  fore- 
head and  cheeks  and  through  her  fallen  and 
tangled  locks,  with  a  thousand  emotions  play- 
ing through  him,  he  said,  *'0h,  won't  you  he 
miner'  With  a  heave  and  a  sigh  and  a  sur- 
rendered will,  she  raised  her  drooping 
eyes  and  said  gently,  with  her  voice  throb- 
bing with  the  emotion  of  her  earnest  soul, 
**You  know  I  will."  He  then  drew  her  closer 
to  him  and  kissed  her  burning  cheeks  that 
glowed  with  the  warm  and  burning  blood  that 
went  dashing  through  her  veins,  and  then 
placing  his  lips  against  her  lips,  their  com- 
munion became  perfect  and  their  spirits  one. 
By  this  time  he  knew  it  was  a  late  hour  and 
he  must  go.  He  gently  brushed  her  entangled 
locks  back  the  best  he  could  and  gently  moved 
his  hand  over  her  cheeks  with  the  touch  of 
ownership,  and  she  gently  responded  with  the 
response  of  complete  surrender.  He,  then, 
taking  her  hand,  gently  assisted  her  from  the 
settee.  As  they  looked  each  other  in  the  face, 
without  a  word  being  expressed,  for  they  un- 
derstood the  expression  of  each  other's  eyes, 

72 


YOUNG  WILSON'S  TRIUMPHANT  VISIT 

he  once  again  gently  leaned  forward  and 
kissed  her  good  night.  It  was  all  over,  and 
they  understood  each  other— their  feelings 
had  been  expressed  to  each  other.  From 
henceforth  they  were  to  be  one  in  flesh,  one  in 
love,  one  in  soul  and  one  in  spirit.  Giving 
her  again  one  gentle  touch  on  the  cheek  and 
squeezing  her  hand  with  the  feeling  of  com- 
plete devotion,  they  strolled  from  the  parlor, 
where  she  assisted  him  on  with  his  overcoat, 
and  then  with  a  handshake  that  both  under- 
stood, he  said  ^  ^  good  night. '  ^ 

Through  the  dreary,  dark  night— through 
the  snow  and  sleet,  he  strolled  his  way  home, 
feeling  that  he  had  conquered  more  than  all 
the  rest  of  the  world  combined;  that  hence- 
forth life  could  not  be  a  failure ;  that  this  night 
had  meant  more  to  him  than  all  the  rest  of  his 
life. 

She  turned  off  the  lights  in  the  parlor  and 
went  to  her  room,  feeling  that  she  had  sur- 
rendered to  one  that  was  more  to  her  than 
all  the  world— that  the  new  life  awakened 
within  her  was  now  perfect.  The  rest  of  the 
world  was  nothing  to  her— she  belonged  to 
one  and  one  only. 

73 


CHAPTER  IX 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 


AS  the  winter  evenings  passed  young 
Wilson  was  a  frequent  visitor  to  the 
Shelton  home.  He  felt  that  he  had  a 
right  there  now.  It  required  no  regular  *  ^  en- 
gagement.'' As  a  rule  he  had  an  ^*  under- 
standing" with  Grace  when  he  would  leave  as 
to  calling  the  next  time.  He  was  attentive  not 
only  in  calling,  for  he  had  not  forgotten  that 
Grace  was  fond  of  flowers.  Her  room  was 
frequently  heautified  with  American  Beauties 
that  he  had  sent  and  with  carnations  that  came 
every  now  and  then,  and  oftentimes  she  was 
favored  with  a  box  of  the  best  candy  that 
could  be  bought  in  Louisville,  containing 
Alex's  card.  He  appreciated  the  attitude  of 
a  true  lover  and  he  knew  how  the  heart  of  a 
woman  longs  for  the  attention  of  the  one  she 
loves.  He  did  not  disappoint  her,  for  he  was 
all  that  a  true  lover  should  be. 

74 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

But  as  the  weeks  came  and  went  and  time 
rolled  on,  the  happy  evenings  of  Grace  and 
Alex  in  the  parlor  were  interfered  with  by 
the  approach  of  the  summer  season.  The  time 
for  going  to  the  ** Springs"  was  at  hand,  and 
Mrs.  Shelton,  Euth  and  Grace  this  summer 
did  the  unusual  thing  by  going  to  one  of  the 
real  fashionable  resorts,  and  it  was  too  far 
away  for  Col.  Shelton  to  look  after  his  busi- 
ness affairs  and  to  visit  them  much ;  and  Alex, 
too,  had  his  father  ^s  affairs  to  look  after  and 
he  could  not  go  with  them,  however  much  he 
desired  to  do  so. 

When  they  reached  the  Springs  they 
stopped  at  the  leading  hotel,  and  Grace's 
beauty  was  soon  the  topic  of  conversation. 
There  were  many  wealthy  young  men  at  the 
hotel  and  all  began  soon  to  inquire,  **Who  is 
that  lady  with  the  two  daughters  1 ' '  They  be- 
gan to  discuss  Mrs.  Shelton  and  Euth  and 
Grace  among  themselves,  and  the  rumors  soon 
spread  ^'that  the  lady  with  the  two  beautiful 
daughters  was  from  Kentucky,"  and  all  the 
young  men  were  soon  planning  to  meet  them. 
**That  one  with  such  long,  golden,  beautiful 
auburn  hair,  with  the  deep  brown  eyes"  was 

75 


THE  STRUGGLE 


the  topic  of  conversation  with  all.  You  could 
hear  the  young  men  in  all  parts  of  the  hotel 
saying,  ^^I  would  like  to  meet  her.  Isn't  she 
a  queen f  and  ^^I  am  going  to  meet  her." 

Mrs.  Shelton  and  the  girls  were  soon  intro- 
duced to  all  the  leading  guests  and  in  a  few 
days  it  was  apparent  to  all  that  Morris  Slogan, 
son  of  Pont  Slogan,  a  multi-millionaire  banker 
and  broker  of  New  York  City,  was  deeply  in- 
fatuated with  Grace  and  that  his  fancy  was 
more  than  having  a  mere  summer  girl. 
Every  afternoon  he  would  invite  Grace  to  go 
driving  with  him,  and  almost  daily  she  was  the 
recipient  of  flowers— American  Beauties  and 
carnations— and  magnificent  boxes  of  candy 
from  him ;  and  at  every  ball  at  the  hotel  it  was 
noticed  by  all  that  he  especially  enjoyed 
dancing  and  being  with  Grace.  That  she  was 
his  favorite  of  all  the  guests  was  apparent  to 
all  observers. 

In  the  meantime  John  King  of  New  York, 
who  had  met  Euth  at  the  wedding  of  Hattie 
and  Marie  and  who  had  since  frequently  vis- 
ited the  home  of  the  Sheltons  at  Summer  Hill 
and  had  kept  the  mails  busy  carrying  the  gen- 
tle missives  from  New  York  to  Rocktite,  ap- 

76 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

peared  upon  the  scene  at  the  Springs,  for  he 
knew  that  Euth  was  there.  He  remained  dur- 
ing the  stay  of  Mrs.  Shelton  and  the  girls  at 
the  Springs  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  state  that 
he  occupied  all  the  time  of  Ruth. 

Morris  Slogan,  a  good  judge  of  human  na- 
ture as  he  was,  soon  observed  that  Mr.  King 
was  on  good  terms  with  Mrs.  Shelton  and  the 
girls  and  that  Mr.  King  had  a  purpose  in  be- 
ing at  the  Springs— a  purpose  that  meant  that 
ere  long  he  would  lead  Ruth  to  the  altar. 
Morris  reasoning  to  himself,  thought,  there- 
fore, that  the  way  for  him  to  get  on  good  terms 
with  the  Sheltons  would  be  to  make  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Mr.  King.  They  both  lived  in 
New  York,  and  while  Morris'  family  was 
higher  in  financial  circles  than  Mr.  King's, 
yet  they  both  were  somewhat  on  a  common 
plane  in  that  they  both  belonged  to  the  better 
element  of  the  metropolis.  Morris  therefore 
thought  that  he  could  soon  discover  something 
in  common  with  Mr.  King  that  would  make 
their  acquaintance  pleasant.  The  first  avail- 
able opportunity  that  presented  itself,  he  said 
to  himself,  *'I  will  utilize  it  to  meet  Mr. 
King"~this,  of  course,  he  did  and  at  once 

77 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


entered  into  a  discussion  of  certain  promi- 
nent men  of  business  circles  whom  they  both 
knew  in  New  York.  They  also  discussed 
the  political  and  social  clubs  of  New  York  and 
other  topics  that  produced  a  mutual  friend- 
ship. Morris,  of  course,  with  good  tact  let  it 
be  known  that  he  was  a  son  of  Mr.  Pont  Slo- 
gan, the  multi-millionaire.  Of  course  this 
soon  reached  the  Sheltons,  for  it  had  already 
reached  other  mothers  in  the  hotel  who  were 
planning  for  their  daughters  to  make  an  im- 
pression on  Morris.  When  Morris  and  Grace 
would  be  driving  out,  these  mothers  would  be 
lecturing  their  daughters  in  their  rooms  to  the 
effect  that  they  were  not  using  good  tact  in 
making  an  impression  upon  Morris,  for  it 
was  apparent  to  those  who  observed  things, 
that  several  of  these  mothers  had  their  eyes 
on  Morris  as  a  *^ catch"  for  their  daughters, 
and  it  was  equally  apparent  to  all  that  the  de- 
signing of  all  of  these  mothers  was  without 
effect— that  Grace  was  the  only  one  at  the 
Springs  in  whom  Morris  had  an  interest. 
Every  afternoon  as  he  took  her  driving,  he 
endeavored  with  good  tact  to  become  better 
acquainted  with  Grace— to  get  on  better  terms 

78 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

with  her.  He  soon  began  to  compliment  her 
on  her  beautiful  eyes,  her  beautiful  golden 
hair,  but  somehow  or  other  he  did  not  have 
the  same  earnestness  in  his  manner  and  in  the 
way  he  said  things  as  did  Ales  Wilson.  As 
they  would  stroll  on  the  lawn  in  the  moon- 
light, her  arm  gently  in  his,  occasionally,  as 
by  accident,  he  would  let  his  hand  take  hold 
of  hers,  but  somehow  or  other  it  had  the 
effect  of  coldness  upon  Grace,  and  she,  pre- 
tending not  to  know  his  purpose,  would  with- 
draw her  hand  from  his.  As  they  would  be 
seated  on  the  rustic  seats  on  the  lawn  in  the 
moonlight,  he  soon  began  occasionally  to  let 
his  hand  touch  hers,  and  then  looking  straight 
into  her  eyes  with  a  kind  of  half  feeling  of 
emotion,  he  would  unintentionally  touch  one 
of  her  golden  locks  that  was  hanging  loose, 
and  then  beg  her  pardon,  and  say,  ^*0h,  ex- 
cuse me.''  ^^ Certainly,"  said  Grace,  but  all 
the  time  she  knew  his  purpose  and  felt  that 
his  pursuit  produced  no  response  in  her. 
Evening  after  evening  they  spent  seated  on 
the  rustic  seats  on  the  lawn,  and  each  time 
Morris  made  his  earnest  approaches.  **I  am 
so  fond  of  Southern  beauty,"  he  said  to  her. 

79 


THE  STRUGGLE 


*^1  have  often  heard  of  the  beautiful  women 
of  Kentucky,  and  I  have  seen  the  real  evi- 
dences thereof  now/'  and  then  quietly  at- 
tempting to  take  hold  of  her  hand  while  she 
pulled  it  away  from  him,  he  said,  '*I  was  im- 
pressed with  you  when  you  first  entered  the 
hotel,  and  when  I  saw  you  walking  to  the  reg- 
ister I  felt  a  consciousness  that  our  meeting 
would  be  mutual.  I  never  had  any  one  to 
make  the  impression  on  me  at  first  sight  that 
you  did.  Then  after  you  registered  and 
turned  to  go  to  your  room  and  the  first  time  I 
got  a  look  into  your  eyes,  those  beautiful 
dreamy  brown  eyes  seemed  to  arouse  all  the 
best  sentiments  and  emotions  of  my  soul." 
Grace  turned  toward  him  rather  coldly  and 
deliberately  said:  **0h,  Mr.  Slogan,  you  are 
mistaken— I  assure  you  I  appreciate  your 
compliment,  but  all  this  will  soon  wear  off.'' 
*  *  Oh,  not  with  me, ' '  said  he.  *  *  I  shall  never 
forget  the  impression  when  you  stepped  into 
the  hotel  and  went  to  the  register.  I  might 
live  a  thousand  years  and  the  sentiments  and 
emotions  that  were  aroused  within  me  when  I 
looked  for  the  first  time  into  your  dreamy 
brown   eyes   will   never   be    forgotten— and 

80 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

those  impressions  are  a  part  of  my  life/' 
Grace,  looking  a  little  serious,  said,  **Well,  T 
am  certainly  sorry;  yon  will  soon  find  an- 
other, however,  that  yon  will  like  better." 
** Never  in  this  life,"  said  he.  **I  know  it  is 
a  short  acquaintance,"  he  continued;  *'I  know 
that  we  have  not  known  each  other  long,  but 
I  am  perfectly  willing  to  let  you  and  your 
parents  know  who  I  am  and  who  my  parents 
are.  I  do  not  say  it  with  any  boasting,  but 
you  know  my  father  is  the  head  of  the  firm  of 
Slogan  &  Co.  and  is  worth  millions— there  are 
only  four  children  and  I  will  be  heir  to  several 
million  dollars.  I  promise  you  all  the  earnest 
attention  and  devotion  of  a  true  man  and  all 
the  comforts  that  money  will  give,  if  you  will 
only  become  mine— if  you  will  only  let  me 
become  the  owner  of  those  golden  locks  and 
those  beautiful  soft  brown  eyes."  He  then 
attempted  to  take  hold  of  her  hand,  but  she 
pulled  it  back.  '^That  is  certainly  kind  of 
you,"  she  said,  ''and  I  appreciate,  I  assure 
you,  your  good  intentions— I  don't  question 
that  you  are  a  gentleman,  Mr.  Slogan,  but  our 
acquaintance,  you  see,  has  been  so  short." 
The  short  acquaintance  was  only  an  excuse 

81 


THE  STRUGGLE 


for  Grace,  for  while  she  said  this  and  while 
he  was  attempting  to  take  hold  of  her  hand, 
she  thought  of  the  days  in  the  parlor  at  Sum- 
mer Hill  with  Alex,  and  her  mind  was  not  on 
Mr.  Slogan  but  on  another,  and  as  Mr.  Slogan 
attempted  to  take  hold  of  her  hand  it  had  a 
chilling  effect  on  her— it  did  not  arouse  those 
sentiments  and  feelings  within  her  that  the 
touch  of  Alex's  hand  did. 

It  was  time  now  to  retire,  and  yet  Grace 
had  given  him  nothing  but  evasion.  After 
she  went  to  her  room,  she  thought  rather  than 
slept  —  it  was  a  great  temptation  —  she 
thought  of  his  millions  and  she  thought  of  the 
pleasure  of  living  in  New  York  with  the  ''four 
hundred''  composed  of  multi-millionaires— 
she  thought  of  the  pleasures  money  would 
give— she  was  conscious  that  she  had  the 
beauty  and  the  culture  to  shine  among  the 
*'four  hundred"  in  the  great  metropolis;  and 
as  she  thought  over  all  of  these  things,  her 
mind  would  revert  to  the  hours  spent  in  the 
parlor  with  Alex  at  Summer  Hill.  Somehow 
her  better  feelings— her  true  nature— were  not 
aroused  by  the  association  with  and  the  touch 
of  Mr.  Slogan— there  was  no  affinity  between 

82 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

them— no  union— liis  toucli  aroused  a  chill 
rather  than  emotion.  She  thought  of  his 
millions,  then  she  thought  of  her  happy  hours 
of  union  and  communion  spent  with  Alex,  and 
she  went  to  sleep  with  these  two  courses  in 
life  struggling  within  her— would  she  take  the 
one  with  the  millions  and  luxuries  and  pleas- 
ures that  money  would  hring,  or  the  other  for 
love— this  was  the  question  that  she  had  to 
settle. 

The  next  morning  when  she  came  down  to 
breakfast,  the  clerk  handed  her  a  letter  that 
bore  the  post  mark  **Eocktite,  Ky."  She 
knew  the  handwriting— she  had  been  receiv- 
ing these  letters  ever  since  she  had  been  at 
the  Springs— and  she  opened  it  to  read  be- 
fore going  to  breakfast. 

*'My  Dearest  One:— 

**I  hope  you  are  having  a  good  time— you 
know  that  for  me  to  know  that  you  are  happy 
makes  me  happy.  You  know  that  my  happi- 
ness in  this  life  depends  on  seeing  you  happy, 
for  to  me  you  are  more  than  all  the  rest  of  the 
world— than  all  other  things  in  life.  I  only 
:wish  I  could  be  with  you,  but  father's  busi- 

83 


THE  STRUGGLE 


ness  is  such  that  I  cannot  leave  home,  and  I 
can  only  commune  with  you  by  writing  to 
you.  I  think  of  you  daily  and  hourly.  I  hope 
you  receive  the  flowers  that  I  send  you  each 
day  and  that  you  appreciate  them  and  think 
of  me  when  vou  receive  them.  Of  course  I 
wish  that  you  were  here  so  that  I  could  be 
with  you,  but  I  would  not  have  you  to  cut 
your  stay  short  for  my  pleasure,  if  you  are 
having  a  good  time.  I  can  stand  all  things 
when  I  know  you  are  happy.  Have  a  good 
time,  my  dearest  one,  but  remember  as  you 
meet  others,  that  you  are  mine.  I  would  not 
be  jealous,  but  while  away  from  me,  do  not 
let  anyone  else  steal  that  heart  that  is  so  dear 
to  me.  All  of  your  love  I  desire  and  crave, 
and  with  that,  I  ask  no  more,  for  with  you 
and  your  love  I  can  conquer  all  things.  I  en- 
joy your  letters  so  much  because  I  know  you 
mean  what  you  say.  Write  me  daily  because 
your  letters  do  me  so  much  good.  Do  not  let 
any  one  else  steal  your  heart  while  you  are 
away  from  me.    Good-bye,  my  dear. ' ' 

As  she  read  these  words,  her  face  burned, 
her  heart  throbbed  with  emotion  that  she 

84 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

could  not  control,  and  slie  said  to  herself,  *^I 
would  not  give  him  for  all  the  millions. ' ' 

After  breakfast,  she  went  to  her  room  and 
she  re-read  and  re-read  Alex's  letter,  and 
every  time  that  she  re-read  it  she  saw  some- 
thing new  in  it— she  experienced  new  feelings 
from  it,  and  then  she  picked  up  her  pen  and 
wrote : 

^^My  Dear  One:— Your  dear  letter  received 
and  it  did  me  so  much  good.  You  don 't  know 
how  much  I  appreciate  your  flowers.  To  be 
loved  by  a  true  man  like  you  is  enough  for 
me.  I  kiss  your  flowers  when  they  come  and 
your  letters  too.  You  need  not  think  that  any 
one  here  will  divide  my  affections  with  you — 
that  is  impossible.  We  will  be  home  soon.  I 
shall  write  you  daily  until  then.  I  know  it 
will  be  a  happy  meeting  when  we  see  each 
other  again.  With  much  love, 

''Gkace." 

That  afternoon  when  Morris  Slogan  asked 
her  to  go  to  drive,  he  saw  in  her  expression  a 
desire  not  to  offend  him  but  to  excuse  herself, 
and  being  a  man  of  good  tact  and  a  gentle- 
man, he  did  not  press  his  invitation,  but 

85 


THE  STRUGGLE 


that  niglit  when  lie  invited  lier  to  go  for 
the  usual  stroll  on  the  lawn,  he  saw  that  she 
wished  to  excuse  herself,  yet  in  a  way  not  to 
offend  him;  but  thinking  that  perseverance 
would  win,  he  insisted,  and  as  they  strolled  to 
the  rustic  seat,  he  was  thinking  of  a  way  to 
approach  her  better  sentiments,  and  after 
thev  were  seated  all  alone,  he  looked  at  her 
and  gently  complimented  her  upon  her  flow- 
ers, but  he  observed  that  they  were  not  the 
ones  that  he  had  sent  her.  He  attempted  to 
compliment  her  as  he  did  the  evening  before 
as  to  her  queenly  hair— but  he  saw  without 
effect.  He  let  his  hand  accidentally  fall 
against  hers  and  he  saw  that  she  withdrew  it 
quickly,  and  that  the  only  effect  that  he  was 
making  was  to  chill  her.  They  did  not  re- 
main seated  long  until  she  said,  **Mr.  Slogan, 
I  am  not  feeling  very  well  this  evening  and  I 
know  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  excuse  me." 
*^ Certainly,'^  said  he.  She  soon  retired,  and 
he  went  to  his  room  thinking  why  it  was  that 
with  all  the  tact  that  he  had  used  he  was 
making  such  a  poor  impression  upon  her. 

Every  afternoon,  he,  with  good  tact,  in- 
sisted that  she  go  to  drive  with  him.    She  ex- 

86 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

cused  herself  as  often  as  good  manners  would 
permit,  but  occasionally  went  with  him,  and 
the  afternoon  before  she  was  to  go  home  the 
next  day,  he  took  her  for  a  long  drive  and  in- 
sisted while  driving  that  she  correspond  with 
him.  She  quickly  said,  ^^Oh,  I  am  such  a 
poor  correspondent,  you  would  not  enjoy  cor- 
responding with  me. "  ^  ^  Oh,  I  know  I  would, ' ' 
said  he— ^4f  I  could  only  get  a  few  lines  from 
you  occasionally,— tell  me,"  he  said  with  all 
the  earnestness  of  his  soul,  ^'if  you  will  not 
correspond  with  me.  You  do  not  know 
what  a  pleasure  it  would  be  to  me  to  receive 
letters  from  you— you  have  no  idea  how  it 
would  inspire  me  in  my  business  life— with 
the  encouragement  that  your  letters  would 
give  me,  I  would  nerve  myself  to  succeed  my 
father  at  the  head  of  his  banking  house,  and 
oh,  if  I  only  had  the  inspiration  through  life 
that  you  could  give  to  me,  I  would  become 
one  of  the  great  financial  magnates  of  New 
York;  and  in  return  for  the  inspiration  that 
you  could  give  to  me,  I  could  give  you  all  the 
happiness,  comforts  and  luxuries  that  money 
could  produce.''  *^That  is  very  kind  of  you, 
Mr.  Slogan,''  she  said,  ^*but  really  you  should 

8Z 


THE  STRUGGLE 


not  feel  so  deeply  interested  in  me,  and  I 
know  that  I  could  have  no  such  effect  upon 
your  life  as  you  think. ' '  ^ '  Oh,  you  do  not  ap- 
preciate the  influence  that  your  life  could 
have  over  me,"  said  he.  She  looked  a  little 
shy  and  felt  a  little  chilly  as  he  spoke  thus, 
and  turning  to  him,  she  said,  *^0h,  that  is  all 
a  misapprehension  on  your  part.'' 

At  this  point  they  had  reached  on  their  re- 
turn the  place  to  alight.  He  helped  her  fron^ 
the  magnificent  carriage,  gently  squeezing  her 
hand  and  looking  into  her  soft  eyes  with  a 
yearning  and  sympathetic  look,  as  she  alight- 
ed. *^I  have  enjoyed  the  drive  very  much, 
Mr.  Slogan.  Accept  my  many  thanks  for 
your  many  courtesies"— and  thence  to  her 
room  she  went.  She  felt  the  pressure  of  his 
persistent  pursuit— she  had  thought  it  all 
over,  and  with  the  sincerity  of  a  true  woman, 
she  had  finally  decided  that  she  would  not  ex- 
change the  emotions,  the  feelings  and  the  love 
produced  by  Alex's  presence  for  all  of  Mr. 
Slogan's  gold.  From  then  until  the  time  they 
were  to  return  home,  she  avoided  Mr. 
Slogan  and  she  gave  him  no  opportunity  to 
have  a  final  confidential  ^^chat."    However, 

88 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

he  was  at  the  station  to  see  them  off.  He  gave 
her  a  sympathetic,  wistful  look  as  he  extended 
his  hand  to  tell  her  good-bye,  and  he  clasped 
her  hand  with  a  grasp  and  touch  that  commu- 
nicated his  inner  and  true  feelings  to  Grace. 
^'Good-bye,"  she  said  to  him;  *^I  appreciate, 
Mr.  Slogan,  very  much  your  courtesies  and 
kindness  since  we  met.'' 

As  the  train  pulled  out,  he  had  hopes  and 
doubts  contesting  in  his  mind  as  to  her  atti- 
tude toward  him.  These  thoughts  he  could 
not  relieve  himself  of  and  he  was  hoping 
against  hope.  He  believed  somehow  and  in 
some  way  he  could  win  her,  yet  he  was  con- 
scious that  his  presence  did  not  produce  a 
natural  response  from  her.  Next  day  he 
mailed  her  a  beautiful  box  of  flowers,  and 
after  many  efforts,  succeeded  in  penning  her 
these  lines : 

^^My  Dear  Miss  Shelton:— I  hope  by  the 
time  this  letter  reaches  you  that  you  will  have 
arrived  home  safely.  A  great  many  of  the 
guests  are  now  leaving  and  only  a  few  are 
coming,  as  the  season  is  drawing  to  an  end. 
Some  of  our  mutual  friends,  whom  you  met 

89 


THE  STRUGGLE 


when  you  were  here,  have  not  gone  as  yet.  I 
stroll  the  lawn  alone  since  yon  left.  Some- 
how I  don't  care  to  mix  with  the  guests— 
there  is  a  kind  of  loneliness  ahout  the  place 
since  yon  left.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  I  felt 
like  I  wanted  to  go  to  Kentucky  too  when  you 
left.  Eeally  I  want  to  go  now.  If  it  would 
not  be  asking  too  much  of  you,  it  would  afford 
me  great  pleasure  to  visit  you.  Somehow  I 
don't  feel  that  you  will  deny  me  this  pleasure. 
Do  me  the  kindness  to  let  me  hear  from  you, 
if  only  a  few  lines. 

**With  many  thoughts  of  the  pleasant  hours 
spent  with  you  while  here,  I  am  still  living  in 
hopes  of  seeing  you  in  the  near  future. 

'^MoRKis  Slogan." 

When  Grace  received  this  letter  and  the 
flowers  she  fully  appreciated  the  delicate 
position  that  she  was  in.  She  regretted  to 
hurt  Mr.  Slogan's  feelings  and  she  appre- 
ciated his  honorable  purposes  too  much  for 
that,  yet  she  owed  a  duty  to  another,  so  she 
concluded  the  best  way  was  not  to  answer  his 
letter  at  all. 

But  Morris  however,  waiting  a  few  days  and 

90 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

not  receiving  an  answer,  sent  another  beau- 
tiful box  of  flowers  selected  with  taste,  with 
the  design  to  arouse  the  best  sentiments  with- 
in Grace,  and  after  thinking  over  the  whole 
matter,  he  decided  the  best  way  to  arouse  a 
response  was  to  write  another  gentle,  brief, 
touching  note. 

*'My  Dear  Miss  Shelton:— 

*^I  came  near  saying  my  dear  Grace,  but  I 
thought  that  that  might  be  more  familiarity 
than  you  would  fully  appreciate,  yet,  anyway, 
you  know  that  the  name  Grace  is  a  dear  name 
to  me,  and  when  I  associate  it  with  the  pleas- 
ant evenings  spent  with  you,  it  becomes  dearer 
to  me. 

'*I  wrote  you  the  day  after  you  left,  but  I 
have  not  been  favored  with  an  answer.  I 
didn't  think  that  you  would  be  so  cruel.  I 
know  that  if  you  only  realized  what  a  few 
lines  from  you  would  be  to  me,  you  would 
write  me.  Oh,  if  I  could  only  hear  from  you 
—just  a  few  lines. 

**  I  leave  today  for  New  York.  Do  write  me. 
Address  me  at  No.  —  Wall  St.,  in  care  of  my 
father's  banking  house,  Pont  Slogan  &  Co. 

91 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


**With  many  good  wishes  for  you  and  for 
your  happiness,  I  am  as  one  wishing  to  hear 
from  you.  Morris. 

**P.  S.— I  do  wish  to  visit  Kentucky  so 
much— write  me  and  let  me  know  when  I  can 
have  that  pleasure. ' ' 

He  was  thoughtful  and  tactful  enough  not 
even  to  refer  to  the  flowers.  He  thought  si- 
lence as  to  them  would  appeal  to  her  with 
more  sympathy. 

In  ahout  a  week  or  so,  after  thinking  the 
matter  over,  Grace  thought  it  would  be  too 
cruel  and  even  impolite  not  even  to  write  him, 
yet  she  did  not  wish  to  encourage  the  corre- 
spondence, so  she  finally  decided  to  write  him 
on  this  line : 

**Mr.  Morris  Slogan, 
*^No.  -  WallSt., 
'*New  York. 
'*My  Dear  Mr.  Slogan:— 

'*I  received  the  flowers  and  wish  to  return 
to  you  my  many  thanks.  It  was  indeed  very 
thoughtful  and  kind  of  you  to  remember  me 
thus.  I  also  received  your  two  letters  and 
would  have  written  you  before  now,  but  we 

92 


GRACE  MEETS  ANOTHER 

have  been  so  busy;  since  returning  from  the 
Springs. 

"I  wish  to  return  to  you  many  thanks  for 
courtesies  shown  me  while  we  were  at  the 
Springs.  Mamma,  Euth  and  I  all  arrived 
home  safely.  "We  had  a  real  family  reunion 
on  our  return.  1  never  appreciate  old  Ken- 
tucky so  much  as  when  I  go  away  awhile  and 
then  return. 

**Now,  Mr.  Slogan,  as  to  you  visiting 
home,  of  course  we  are  always  delighted  to 
see  our  friends.  For  the  next  few  weeks  we 
will  not  be  in  a  position  to  entertain,  but  in 
the  near  future,  if  you  wish  to  come  as  a 
friend,  I  would  be  delighted  to  see  you. 

*  *  Sincerely, 

*  *  GeACE  S HELTON. ' ' 

When  Mr.  Slogan  received  this  letter,  he 
read  it  and  re-read  it;  he  took  in  the  full 
meaning  of  the  words  **as  a  friend"  and  he 
was  conscious  of  what  Grace  intended  to 
convey.  However,  he  did  not  realize  that  her 
purpose  in  postponing  his  visit  for  some 
weeks  was  only  to  give  him  time  to  receive 
another  communication  before  coming. 

93 


THE  STRUGGLE 


In  due  time,  however,  and  before  it  would 
be  proper  for  him  to  ask  to  visit  her  after  re- 
ceiving her  letter,  he  received  another  com- 
munication from  Eocktite,  Ky.  He  recog- 
nized the  handwriting— he  knew  it  was  from 
Grace.  It  produced  new  courage  within  him 
until  he  opened  it  and  read : 

*'Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Shelton  request  your 
presence  at  the  marriage  of  their  daughter, 
Grace,  to  Mr.  Alex  Wilson, ' '  etc. 

He  understood  it  all  then.  He  fully  appre- 
ciated Grace's  attitude  at  the  Springs,  and  he 
was  now  fully  convinced  that  he  was  better 
prepared  to  interpret  the  acts  and  words  of  a 
woman  than  ever  before. 


94 


CHAPTER  X 


AIs^OTHER  DOUBLE  WEDDING 

OF  course  Mr.  Slogan  did  not  attend  the 
wedding.  He  was  not  in  a  mood  that 
fitted  him  for  the  occasion— first  mad 
and  then  regretting,  and  then  trying  to  recon- 
cile these  two  conflicting  feelings  within  him, 
made  him  want  to  be  to  himself— all  alone. 
He  thought  he  was  disgusted  with  woman- 
kind, but  he  was  not— he  only  thought  so. 

Grace's  beauty  was  a  living  image  in  his 
mind,  yet  when  his  pride  arose  within  him  he 
resented  what  he  considered  from  his  stand- 
point such  cruel  treatment.  Why  a  gentle- 
man like  himself,  with  his  millions,  and  who 
moved  in  the  circle  of  *^the  four  hundred"  in 
New  York,  a  circle  whose  only  criterion  and 
standard  is  the  almighty  dollar,  should  be  de- 
clined by  a  lady  with  ordinary  means  for  a 
Kentucky  youth  who  was  only  in  average 
financial  circumstances,  was  more  than  he 

95 


THE  STRUGGLE 


could  imderstand.  He  resented  it,  but  these 
feelings  you  know  pass  away,  and  liuman 
nature  is  so  created  tliat  another  soon  takes 
the  place  of  the  vacuum  that  it  once  seemed 
could  not  be  filled. 

It  was  a  day  of  great  joy  and  great  regrets 
with  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton,  for  their  lives  had 
been  consecrated  to  the  raising  of  the  girls, 
and  now  that  they  all  were  going  was  to  be 
regretted,  but  they  were  all  doing  well— 
marrying  men  of  good  repute,  a  thing  to 
rejoice  over.  Hattie  and  Marie  had  married 
well  and  both  had  returned  home  with  their 
husbands  for  the  purpose  of  attending  the 
wedding.  John  King  was  a  young  business 
man  of  more  than  ordinary  promise  in  the 
business  world  in  New  York.  The  Wilson 
and  Shelton  families  were  glad  Grace  and 
Alex  were  to  be  married.  **A11  the  Shelton 
girls  had  done  well"  was  the  comment  of  the 
district  around  about  Eocktite. 

It  was  a  time  of  both  joy  and  weeping— a 
time  that  comes  in  all  families— a  parting  of 
the  ways— a  family  breaking  up.  Summer 
Hill  had  been  a  happy  home,  here  had  dwelt  a 
true  man  wedded  to  a  saintly  and  pure  woman, 

96 


ANOTHER  DOUBLE  WEBBING 

and  each  had  been  all  that  conld  be  expected 
by  the  other.  Their  union  had  been  a  true 
and  happy  union,  and  as  the  fruits  of  their 
marriage  there  had  been  four  beautiful  girls 
that  they  had  raised  to  queenly  womanhood. 
Two  of  the  girls  had  married  and  gone  to  as- 
sume the  responsibilities  of  life,  and  now  the 
other  two  were  going.  On  occasions  like  this 
parents  rejoice  to  see  their  daughters  do  well, 
and  yet  are  sad  to  see  them  go,  for  when  they 
assume  the  marriage  relation  their  affections 
are  transferred  to  other  sources,— other  than 
the  parents.  Of  course  they  still  retain  the 
parental  love,  but  it  does  not  have  the  same 
fervor  that  it  once  did,  for  the  human  heart  is 
only  capable  of  so  much  love,  and  when  the 
conjugal  relation  divides  it  with  the  filial  rela- 
tion, the  latter,  of  course,  is  weakened.  Col. 
and  Mrs.  Shelton  felt  and  realized  the  force 
of  these  facts,  but  they  realized,  too,  that  we 
are  all  the  servants  of  the  laws  of  nature. 
Question,  grumble  and  rebel  as  we  may,  we  all 
finally  bow  in  obedience  to  the  unchangeable 
and  unwritten  decrees  of  nature.  That  the 
marriage  relation  was  decreed  by  nature  for  a 
purpose  and  that  the  human  family  in  or- 

97 


THE  STRUGGLE 


ganized  society  will  continue  to  execute  that 
decree,  they  fully  recognized. 

They  had  had  one  double  wedding  and  the 
two  girls  were  gone— the  family  circle  had 
been  broken,  and  now  the  other  two  were  to 
go.  They  had  prepared  to  make  it  an  occa- 
sion of  both  a  family  reunion  and  a  family 
parting.  The  girls  were  there— Hattie  and 
Marie  with  their  husbands— and  representa- 
tive men  they  were.  All  of  the  guests  that 
were  at  the  marriage  of  Hattie  and  Marie, 
who  now  lived  in  the  community,  were  there ; 
the  special  friends  of  the  Shelton  family  from 
various  parts  of  old  Kentucky  were  there ;  the 
Eev.  Dr.  Curry,  who  had  administered  to  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  Shelton  family  for 
years  and  who  officiated  at  the  wedding  of 
Hattie  and  Marie,  was  there;  Capt.  Bell,  the 
old  family  friend  of  the  Sheltons,  stately,  in- 
telligent, congenial  and  manly,  gentleman  of 
the  old  school  that  he  was,  was  there. 

Mr.  King  and  Mr.  Wilson  felt  that  they 
were  heroes,  each  felt  that  he  was  a  conqueror 
and  had  won  a  prize  that  was  worth  more  than 
all  the  world  to  him.  Of  course,  John  King 
could  see  only  one  beautiful  woman  in  the 

98 


ANOTHER  DOUBLE  WEDDING 

Shelton  home  and  that  was  Ruth,  and  from  his 
viewpoint  she  was  queenly,  pure  and  good,  all 
that  mortal  man  could  ask.  And  Alex  knew 
that  Grace  was  beautiful,  pure  and  good.  He 
did  not  have  to  measure  her  beauty  from  his 
viewpoint,  but  from  the  viewpoint  of  every- 
one who  knew  her  she  was  as  near  perfection 
both  as  to  character  and  beauty  as  it  was  pos- 
sible for  a  mortal  to  be. 

The  Shelton  home  was  magnificently  ar- 
ranged for  the  occasion,  servants  were  every- 
where willing  and  waiting  to  give  every  atten- 
tion to  every  guest.  The  atmosphere  seemed 
to  be  impregnated  with  the  odors  and  per- 
fumes of  carnations  and  roses  and  flowers  of 
every  description.  Everything  that  human 
appetite  could  desire  or  wish  was  ready  and 
waiting  for  the  guests— it  was  the  hospitality 
of  a  representative  home— of  a  great  civiliza- 
tion. The  doors  were  thrown  wide  open— the 
guests  were  ever3rwhere— everybody  was 
happy— everyone  congratulating  each  other 
and  all  congratulating  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton, 
and  especially  Mr.  King  and  Mr.  Wilson,  for 
each  had  won  the  heart  of  the  one  that  meant 
more  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world  to  him. 

99 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


Finally  the  all  important  hour  came— the 
wedding  march  began  to  vibrate  through  the 
Shelton  mansion— down  the  long  and  wide 
hair  and  through  the  spacious  reception  room 
into  the  double  parlor  marched  Mr.  Wilson 
and  Mr.  King,  arm  in  arm;  then  from  the 
other  long  wide  hall  extending  through  the 
other  part  of  the  mansion,  came  Col.  Shelton, 
stately  and  manly,  stepping  with  the  firm  step 
of  a  king,  with  his  two  queenly  daughters,  one 
leaning  on  one  arm  and  one  on  the  other; 
through  the  long  and  spacious  reception  room 
into  the  spacious  parlor  they  marched ;  there 
stood  the  Eev.  Dr.  Curry,  a  solemn  and  godly 
man.  Every  available  space  in  the  double 
parlor,  in  the  wide  reception  room,  in  the  long 
spacious  halls,  on  the  long  wide  verandah, 
was  filled  with  admiring  guests.  In  the  pres- 
ence of  these  witnesses.  Col.  Shelton,  releasing 
his  arms  from  those  of  his  two  fair  daughters, 
releasing  them  from  his  care  and  from  his 
protection,  gave  Grace's  arm  to  Alex  and 
Kuth's  to  Mr.  King,— surrendered  each  one  of 
them  unto  the  care  and  protection  of  the  man 
of  her  choice,  and  when  the  Eev.  Dr.  Curry 
had  gone  through  the  usual  ceremony  and  re- 

100 


ANOTHER  DOUBLE  WEDDING 

ceived  the  usual  responses,  he  raised  his  face 
heavenward  and  said,  *^Let  us  pray,'*  and 
after  asking  the  guidance  and  care  of  the 
Father  of  all  upon  the  two  young  couples  en- 
tering into  the  relation  that  His  decree  had 
designed,  he  said,  turning  to  Mr.  King  and 
Ruth,  ^^I  pronounce  you  husband  and  wife," 
and  then  turning  to  Alex  and  Grace  he  said, 
*'I  pronounce  you  husband  and  wife;'*  then 
extending  his  hand  to  each  one  of  them,  he 
said  **God  bless  you."  The  silence  was  then 
broken— Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  both  coming 
forward  and  extending  their  hands  and  con- 
gratulations, then  in  order  came  Hattie  and 
Marie  and  their  husbands,  and  then  the  good 
old  friend  of  the  family,  Capt.  Bell,  then  the 
guests  in  regular  and  orderly  procession— it 
was  a  cordial  affair— the  atmosphere  was 
alive  with  earnestness  and  cordiality,  no 
sham,  no  false  pretension,  but  sincerity 
seemed  to  be  in  every  heart. 

Grace  was  more  beautiful  this  day  than  ever 
before  in  her  life;  her  golden  auburn  hair 
seemed  to  make  her  look  more  queenly  than 
ever  before,  her  deep  brown  eyes  moved  by 
the  inspiration  of  the  hour  seemed  to  give 

101 


THE  STRUGGLE 


forth  an  expression  of  the  very  throbing  of  her 
warm  and  earnest  heart— in  them  was  an  in- 
spiration that  would  have  softened  and  moved 
a  heart  of  stone,  her  gown  was  beautifully 
and  tastefully  arranged  so  as  to  show  to  every 
advantage  her  compact  figure.  The  excite- 
ment of  the  occasion  seemed  to  embarrass  her 
just  enough  to  make  her  creamy,  tender  and 
soft  face  blush  with  the  complexion  of  her 
warm,  young  and  burning  blood— her  throb- 
bing heart  sent  dashing  through  her  veins 
the  blood  of  life  and  youth  that  made  her  a 
real  living  magnet.  As  she  and  Alex  stood 
arm  in  arm  and  the  man  of  God  pronounced 
them  one,  there  seemed  to  be  communion  be- 
tween them.  When  the  marriage  was  over 
and  the  refreshments  had  been  served,  Alex 
and  his  bride  and  Mr.  King  and  his  bride  left 
on  the  next  train  for  the  usual  bridal  tour, 
then  the  guests  began  to  leave— in  a  short 
while  all  were  gone  except  Hattie  and  Marie, 
Mr.  Kinston  and  Mr.  Winston  and  Capt.  Bell. 
The  Shelton  mansion  had  an  air  of  loneliness. 


102 


CHAPTER  XI 


A  FAMILY  REUNION 


AFTER  the  marriage  of  Grace  and  Ruth, 
Mr.  King  settled  in  New  York  where  he 
was  engaged  in  the  steel  and  hardware 
business.  Grace  and  Alex  returned  to  Sum- 
mer Hill  and  made  their  home  with  Col.  and 
Mrs.  Shelton,  for  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  could 
not  conceive  of  the  idea  of  all  the  girls  being 
away  from  them  and  persuaded  Grace  and 
Alex  to  make  their  home  with  them.  The 
parents  felt  in  their  declining  years  that  they 
needed  the  inspiration,  love  and  care  of  their 
baby  girl  and  the  *  ^  apple  of  their  eye. ' '  Al- 
though the  other  girls  were  gone,  if  Col.  and 
Mrs.  Shelton  could  only  keep  Grace  and  Alex 
with  them,  there  was  still  something  for  which 
to  live.  Alex  was  an  ideal  son-in-law,  he 
respected  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton.  Grace's 
affection  for  him  was  such  as  to  keep  his  heart 
tender  and  gentle.    He  loved  Grace  with  a 

103 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


love  that  was  so  deep  seated  that  it  made  him 
feel  tender  and  kind  toward  her  devoted 
father  and  mother.  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton 
were  beginning  to  grow  old— age  had  begun  to 
tell  its  story  npon  them— they  were  gradually 
moving  toward  that  great  road  into  which 
every  mortal  traveler  puts  his  foot  to  go  the" 
long  journey.  Col.  Shelton  had  reached  the 
point  in  life  where  he  wished  to  lay  aside  busi- 
ness cares  and  spend  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  peace  and  quietude.  Mrs.  Shelton  felt 
that  she  no  longer  wished  to  be  burdened  with 
household  duties  and  family  cares;  so  the 
running  of  the  Shelton  plantation  and  caring 
for  its  business  affairs  was  practically  turned 
over  to  Mr.  Wilson,  and  the  care  of  the  Shel- 
ton mansion  placed  in  the  hands  and  care  of 
Grace.  But  in  due  course  of  time  Col.  and 
Mrs.  Shelton  felt  that  they  once  again  wanted 
all  the  children  around  the  fireside— that  they 
wanted  to  see  all  the  children  and  grand- 
children under  the  parental  roof,  and  they  de- 
cided to  have  a  family  reunion.  Hattie  and 
Mr.  Kinston  with  their  two  beautiful  little 
girls,  and  Marie  and  Mr.  Winston  with  their 
beautiful  little  girl  and  manly  little  boy,  Mr. 

104 


A  FAMILY  REUNION 


King  and  Enth  with  their  little  girl  and  Alex 
and  Grace  with  their  little  girl,  were  there. 
Capt.  Bell  was  the  only  guest  invited  to  this 
reunion  who  was  present  at  the  marriage  of 
all  the  daughters,  but  he  was  there,  aged 
though  he  was,  with  the  same  classic  face  and 
manly  form  of  other  days.    The  Shelton  home 
did  not  have  that  life  and  vivacity  in  the  at- 
mosphere of  days  gone  by  when  all  the  girls 
were  single— it  did  not  have  that  touch  of  life 
of  other  days,  and  the  old  piano  in  the  large 
front  parlor  didn't  seem  to  have  the  same 
ring,  the  large  oaks  with  the  vines  twining 
around  them  didn't  seem  to  have  the  cheer 
and  the  spirit  of  other  days.    Somehow,  no 
one  could  explain  why,  there  seemed  to  be  a 
spirit  of  decay  and  disintegration  that  all  was 
passing  away  in  the  atmosphere  of  Summer 
Hill.     The    spirit    of   disintegration,    which 
breaks  up  the  family,  the  fireside  and  the 
home  of  each  generation  as  it  passes  in  the 
march  of  civilization  of  the  human  family, 
seemed  to  permeate  the  very  atmosphere  and 
life  of  the   Shelton  home,   and  all  present 
seemed  to  be  conscious  of  the  numb,  dead, 
disintegrating  spirit  that  permeated  the  very 

105 


THE  STRUGGLE 


atmosphere— all  present  labored  under  this 
burden  and  it  was  apparent  to  each  and  every 
one  there  that  each  and  every  one  was  at- 
tempting to  throw  off  and  conceal  the  feelings 
that  were  present.  Capt.  Bell,  always  full  of 
life  and  of  good  spirits,  was  exerting  his  best 
efforts  to  put  life  and  cheer  into  the  occa- 
sion. 

At  the  appointed  time  when  all  were  gath- 
ered around  the  family  table  to  replenish  na- 
ture's demands,  Capt.  Bell  and  Col.  Shelton 
thought  it  an  opportune  time  to  put  the  cur- 
rent of  life  into  action  and  to  rehabilitate  the 
old  mansion  with  the  spirit  of  other  days,  if 
such  were  possible.  They  therefore  naturally 
turned  to  the  current  topics  of  the  day  and  to 
such  subjects  as  were  uppermost  in  the  public 
mind.  Capt.  Bell,  with  his  classic,  intelli- 
gent and  aged  face,  led  in  the  conversation. 
*^"VVhat  do  you  think,  Col.  Shelton,  is  going  to 
be  the  outcome  of  all  this  agitation  that  seems 
to  be  stirring  up  public  sentiment  so,  as  to  the 
trusts  and  combines— it  seems  from  the  East- 
em,  Cincinnati  and  Chicago  papers  that  that 
is  the  issue  of  all  issues  that  the  American 
people  have  got  to  contend  with.    I  don't 

106 


A  FAMILY  REUNION 


know  what  your  opinion  on  the  subject  is,  but 
I  am  firmly  convinced  that  it  is  an  issue  that 
the  Eepublic  is  standing  face  to  face  with,  and 
one  that  is  going  to  take  the  best  patriotism 
and  intelligence  of  the  rising  generations  to 
solve.  In  my  opinion,  the  patriotism  and  in- 
telligence of  this  government  has  got  to  either 
destroy  these  trusts  and  their  combines  or 
they  will  destroy  the  government— in  fact,  if 
the  current  reports  and  information  that  is 
given  out  by  the  press  and  tbe  legitimate 
sources  from  the  government  are  true,  they 
now  have  this  government  prostrated  and 
helpless,  and  the  men  who  are  at  the  head  of 
these  combines  and  who  give  life  and  direction 
to  them  are  more  powerful  than  the  chief  ex- 
ecutive of  the  Republic  and  of  all  the  con- 
stituted legal  authorities  combined,  and  these 
combinations  possess  more  power  and  more 
wealth  than  this  government  of  eighty  mil- 
lions of  people  of  the  greatest  race  the  world 
has  ever  known.  You  and  I,  Colonel,  haven't 
a  great  while  to  stay  here  and  to  struggle  with 
these  problems.  Each  generation  since  the 
beginning  of  the  human  family  and  civiliza- 
tion has  had  its  own  problems  to  solve,  its 

107 


THE  STRUGGLE 


own  burdens  to  bear  and  its  own  struggles  to 
overcome.  Our  forefathers,  when  they  first 
fled  to  these  shores  to  throw  off  the  oppression 
of  the  British,  had  their  trials,  they  saw  the 
broad  forest  and  the  great  prairies  that 
stretched  out  over  this  continent,  they  saw 
that  God  had  intended  this  as  a  country  where 
his  children  could  enjoy  liberty,  justice,  law 
and  order  and  the  fruits  of  their  labor,  with- 
out being  oppressed  by  a  privileged  class,  a 
worthless,  non- wealth-producing  aristocracy 
and  royal  Courts  and  the  absolutism  of  mon- 
archy ;  they  realized  that  this,  the  new  world, 
was  the  last  hope  for  justice  and  right  to  reign 
among  men,  and  the  last  chance  that  the 
masses,  who  produce  the  wealth  and  support 
organized  society,  would  ever  have  to  bid  the 
onward  march  of  oppression,  royalty,  mon- 
archy, and  the  privileged  classes  to  stop. 
They  fully  realized  that  it  was  the  opportune 
time  in  the  progress  of  the  human  race  for 
justice  to  triumph  over  wrong  and  to  begin 
its  warfare  for  existence,  and  if  right  ever  ex- 
pected to  make  war  on  these  false  schools  of 
government  in  the  name  of  humanity,  that 
they  were  living  in  the  age  when  it  should  be 

108 


A  FAMILY  REUNION 


done,  that  Almiglity  God  had  placed  the  bur- 
den and  the  duty  upon  their  shoulders  to  be- 
gin the  crusade  against  these  false  schools  of 
government  which  had  oppressed  and  robbed 
mankind  from  the  beginning  of  organized  so- 
ciety to  the  end  that  class  rule,  monarchy  and 
privileged  classism  should  be  dethroned^  and 
that  justice,  law  and  order  should  reign 
throughout  the  civilized  world.  Our  fore- 
fathers, realizing  what  this  opportunity  meant 
to  mankind,  and  if  it  was  lost,  then  that  the 
same  old  fraudulent  school  of  government, 
monarchy,  absolutism,  royalty  and  classism 
would  continue  to  oppress  mankind  through- 
out the  ages,  arose  in  their  might  and  de- 
clared that  the  colonies  of  this  continent  *  'were 
and  of  right  should  be  free. ' '  They  made  this 
declaration  when  they  knew,  if  they  lost  and 
their  cause  went  down  in  defeat,  that  it  meant 
their  lives,— meant  that  they  were  to  be 
stamped  as  traitors  and  shot  down  as  felons, 
yet,  for  truth  and  for  right  and  for  humanity's 
sake,  they  stood  by  their  principles  and  died 
on  the  battle  field  for  convictions,  to  the  end 
that  this  Republic  might  be  established,  and 
that  its  reflex  action  might  go  out  as  a  civiliz- 

109 


THE  STRUGGLE 


ing  power  in  every  clime  until  the  false  schools 
that  have  oppressed  mankind  throughout  the 
ages  should  he  exposed  and  dethroned,  and 
that  right,  justice,  law  and  order  should  reign 
wherever  organized  society  is  established. 
They  succeeded— they  planted  their  impress 
upon  the  charts  of  time  and  left  the  heroic  acts 
of  their  lives  as  a  heritage  to  the  human  fam- 
ily. From  that  day  until  now  each  generation 
in  this  Republic  has  had  its  burdens  to  bear 
and  its  own  problems  to  solve.  In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Eepublic  there  were  the  vari- 
ous conflicting  schools  of  government,  and 
some  believed  that  each  one  of  the  states 
should  remain  separate  and  independent  pow- 
ers, some  believed  that  some  of  the  states 
should  organize  respective  confederate  gov- 
ernments, some  believed  that  all  the  states 
should  organize  a  confederate  government, 
some  believed  that  all  the  states  should  or- 
ganize a  national  government,  and  others  be- 
lieved that  all  the  states  should  organize  a 
system  which  would  perpetuate  a  ruling 
class  of  officers  that  would  finally  develop 
into  class  rule  and  legal  caste  in  this  country. 
They  based  their  faith  on  the  ground  that 

110 


A  FAMILY  REUNION 


this  was  necessary  to  perpetuate  the  gov- 
ernment. These  were  conflicting  views  and 
they  had  to  straggle  and  contest  with 
each  other  for  existence,  and  out  of  the  con- 
flict our  present  system  of  government  was 
finally  evolved,  and  then  later  when  all  of  the 
various  schools  had  resolved  themselves  into 
two  conflicting  views,  it  took  a  civil  war  to 
establish  which  one  of  the  two  conflicting 
views  should  rule.  All  of  these  issues  tried 
men's  souls,  and  out  of  them,  in  my  opinion, 
we  have  evolved  the  best  form  of  government 
that  has  ever  been  established  among  men, 
but  I  am  honest  when  I  tell  you  that  I  believe 
that  this  Eepublic,  which  cost  so  much  human 
blood,  so  much  suffering  and  so  many  human 
lives,  is  now  on  trial  and  is  staggering  in 
its  struggle  with  the  commercial  privileged 
classes,  whose  combinations  have  become 
more  powerful  than  the  government  itself. 
What  the  future  will  be,  no  man  can  tell,  but 
one  thing  sure,  the  old-time  patriotism  of  the 
Fathers  must  be  aroused  and  the  government 
must  dethrone  these  combinations  and  their 
power  or  they  will  dethrone  the  government ; 
and  then  blood  will  be  shed,  organized  so- 

111 


THE  STRUGGLE 


ciety  will  be  crushed,  anarchy  will  be  in  con- 
trol, and  we  will  have  another  reign  of  ter- 
ror. This  is  a  dark  view  and  a  gloomy  pic- 
ture I  know,  Colonel,  which  you  and  I  will  not 
live  to  see,  but  as  sure  as  you  and  I  sit  here 
at  this  table  today,  it  is  coming  unless  the 
conscience  and  patriotism  of  the  American 
people  are  aroused  to  the  necessities  of  the 
issue." 

*^You  may  be  over-drawing  the  picture, 
Captain,  ^*said  Col.  Shelton,  *^but  I  admit 
that  it  is  a  serious  question— one  that  states- 
men and  patriots  should  deal  with,  and  not 
demagogues  and  commercial  pirates." 

All  this  time  Mr.  King,  Alex,  Mr.  Winston 
and  Mr.  Kinston  and  the  ladies  had  listened 
with  earnestness— the  conversation  between 
Capt.  Bell  and  Col.  Shelton  had  impressed 
them.  Mr.  King  injected  into  the  conver- 
sation, *^  Captain,  you  and  Colonel  must  ex- 
cuse me— I  am  not  a  prophet,  and  do  not  un- 
dertake to  predict  what  the  future  will  be 
from  history,  but  as  a  practical  business  man, 
I  am  having  experiences— I  know  that  the 
steel  and  iron  trusts  and  the  trusts  that  con- 
trol the  other  articles  which  I  deal  in,  are 

112 


A  FAMILY  REUNION 


giving  the  dealers  who  are  competing  in  the 
markets  for  just  and  honorable  trade,  a  tussle 
—whether  we  are  going  to  be  able  to  hold  out 
and  continue  in  business  is  a  serious  problem, 
or  whether  we  will  finally  be  crushed  out  and 
be  compelled  to  become  employees  of  these 
combines  instead  of  conducting  business  for 
ourselves  is  the  question  before  us,  and  it  is  a 
very  serious  question  and  all  the  independent 
dealers  who  are  competing  in  the  market  for 
honest  and  independent  trade,  fully  realize 
the  seriousness  of  the  situation." 

At  this  point  Mr.  Winston  also  injected 
into  the  conversation,  *'Yes,  this  cotton 
combination  is  affecting  the  cotton  plant- 
ers as  well  as  the  manufacturers.  The  cot- 
ton planters  are  beginning  to  feel  their  oper- 
ations." 

*^You  are  not  feeling  them  as  much  as  we 
do  the  sugar  and  rice  trusts,"  said  Mr.  Kins- 
ton— the  fact  of  the  business  is  they  have  just 
about  got  control  of  all  the  manufacturing 
facilities  of  the  country— they  control  the  out- 
put of  the  entire  product  of  our  line  in  the 
country— they  control  the  price  which  the  pro- 
ducer is  to  receive  and  the  price  which  the 

113 


THE  STRUGGLE 


consumer  is  to  pay— what  the  end  of  the 
operations  is  going  to  be,  we  do  not  know, 
but  there  is  one  thing  we  know— all  we 
planters  who  raise  the  produce  are  at  their 
mercy. ' ' 

**Well,  haven't  the  tobacco  trusts  and  com- 
bines got  us  within  their  clutches, '  *  said  Alex 
— **they  control  the  entire  product  of  the 
country  in  this  line— they  say  what  the  pro- 
ducer shall  receive  for  his  products  and  what 
the  consumer  shall  pay  for  what  he  con- 
sumes." 

At  this  time  the  conversation  turned  to 
other  topics,  and  dinner  was  soon  over.  The 
ladies  went  to  the  parlor  and  the  gentlemen 
to  the  smoking  room  for  a  smoke. 

After  the  family  reunion  for  some  days  was 
over,  Mr.  Kinston  and  Hattie  returned  to 
their  home,  Mr.  Winston  and  Marie  to  theirs, 
and  Mr.  King  and  Ruth  returned  to  New 
York.  Alex  and  Grace,  of  course,  remained 
at  the  Shelton  home.  The  reunion  was  over, 
and  of  course  Col.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  felt  bet- 
ter for  having  had  the  children  once  again 
around  the  fireside.    Little  did  they  think  or 

114 


A  FAMILY  REUNION 


even  dream  that  this  would  be  the  last  time 
that  the  family  with  all  of  its  members  would 
reassemble. 


115 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE    CAUSE 


THE  papers  all  over  the  country,  for 
weeks  before  the  family  reunion  at 
Summer  Hill,  had  been  filled  with  the 
** Trust  and  Corporation  Issue."  It  was  the 
issue  of  the  times.  At  the  country  school 
houses,  country  churches,  on  the  street  corners 
and  in  the  public  marts  of  trade  throughout 
the  land  this  had  become  the  all-important  is- 
sue. *  'What  is  going  to  be  the  final  outcome  of 
these  trusts  and  combines!"  was  the  all-im- 
portant question.  It  was  the  question  that 
everybody  everywhere  throughout  the  land 
was  asking.  For  years  the  men  who  organ- 
ized these  combines  had  been  going  about 
their  work  systematically  with  premeditation 
and  design— day  after  day,  week  after  week, 
they  had  met  at  their  usual  meeting  place  in 
the  rear  of  Pont  Slogan  &  Company's  Bank- 
ing House  on  Wall  Street  and  planned  the 

116 


THE  CAUSE 


ways  and  means  not  only  to  control  the  prices 
of  the  products  of  the  eighty  million  people 
of  this  American  Eepublic,  but  in  a  measure, 
all  the  world.  Day  after  day,  week  after 
week,  and  month  after  month  they  had  met 
there  with  only  one  purpose  in  view— dollars, 
dollars,  dollars— regardless  of  the  rights  of 
humanity,  regardless  of  law— human  or  Di- 
vine—dollars they  must  have.  Night  after 
night,  day  after  day  and  week  after  week, 
they  had  met  in  this  quiet  office,  set  apart  for 
the  purpose  of  their  business  in  the  rear  of 
Slogan  &  Co.'s  Banking  House;  unmindful 
of  the  millions  of  men,  women  and  children, 
poorly  clad,  hungry  and  starving  in  the  death 
pools  and  hovels  all  around  them ;  unmindful 
of  the  thousands  of  wretched  men,  women  and 
children  who  were  daily  placing  their  feet  in 
the  great  road  and  beginning  the  long  journey 
for  the  want  of  raiment  and  food— of  the  men, 
women  and  children  who  daily  die  with  the 
pangs  of  hunger  gnawing  at  their  vitals; 
and  whose  hunger-worn  and  haggard  forms 
are  carried  like  the  beasts  of  the  forest 
to  the  potter's  field,  after  their  spirits  are 
gone   into   the    great   unknown;    unmindful 

117 


THE  STRUGGLE 


of  the  ten  millions  of  human  beings  living 
under  the  flag  of  this  American  Eepnb- 
lic,  actually  wanting  for  food  to  stop  the 
gnawings  of  hunger  at  the  soul  and  raiment 
to  keep  their  shivering  bodies  warm ;  unmind- 
ful of  the  thousands  of  human  beings  that  are 
daily  being  brought  into  existence  from  moth- 
ers suffering  from  hunger  and  disease  for  the 
want  of  food  and  care;  unmindful  of  the 
thousands  of  men  and  women  under  the  flag 
of  the  Republic  who  wear  chains  and  clamps 
of  the  convict  for  committing  some  petty  act 
to  secure  food  to  satisfy  the  gnawing  of  hun- 
ger; unmindful  of  the  thousands  who  shiver 
with  cold  and  die  of  hunger  all  around  them, 
from  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  bleak 
winds  of  the  north  until  the  kissing  of  the 
May  sun,  while  these  conspirators  against 
legitimate  business  interests,  their  kith  and 
their  kind,  roll  by  in  their  gorgeous  carriages 
clothed  in  the  finest  velvets  and  furs  and  dissi- 
pate in  the  brown  stone  mansions  on  Fifth 
Avenue,  erected  out  of  the  wealth  that  the 
pauperized  millions,  who  shiver  for  the  want 
of  clothes  and  die  for  the  want  of  food,  pro- 
duced. 


118 


TEE  CAUSE 


Night  after  night  in  this  back  room  they  had 
their  usual  meetings  to  perfect  and  to  operate 
their  plans  and  designs,  their  ways  and  means, 
to  fix  their  combinations  so  as  to  name  the 
prices  that  every  wealth  producer  of  the  land 
should  be  compelled  to  receive  for  his  labor 
and  products  and  to  name  the  price  that 
every  consumer  under  the  flag  should  pay  for 
the  clothes  he  wore  and  the  food  that  he  ate. 
Day  after  day  and  night  after  night  they 
assembled  there  to  carry  out  their  schemes 
and  their  plans  in  defiance  of  law  and  order 
and  the  rights  of  every  citizen  under  the  flag ; 
unmindful  of  the  statue  of  liberty  standing  in 
the  harbor  of  the  great  port  of  the  greatest 
republic  on  earth,  raising  its  countenance  and 
expression  in  defiance  to  the  oppression,  mon- 
archy and  class  rule  of  the  old  world,  and 
holding  up  the  beacon  light  to  the  oppressed 
millions  of  despots,  crowned  heads  and  mon- 
archs  of  the  old  world  to  come  hither  and  take 
up  their  abode  under  the  flag  of  the  republic 
where  all  men  could  receive  the  fruits  of  their 
own  labor  and  right  according  to  common  jus- 
tice. 

There  were  no  waving  signs  inviting  the 

119 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


general  public  to  these  meetings,  there  were 
no  notices  published  putting  the  world  on  no- 
tice of  what  was  going  on  there ;  the  thousands 
went  struggling  by  on  Broadway— rushing, 
pushing,  going  hither  and  thither  for  what 
purpose  they  knew  not;  the  thousands  were 
daily  struggling  around  Wall  Street,  taking 
chances  in  the  gambling  atmosphere  that  ex- 
isted there,  hoping  to  reinstate  themselves 
financially  and  regain  their  lost  fortunes ;  over 
in  the  Stock  Exchange  men  pulled  their  hair, 
clasped  their  hands,  gritted  their  teeth,  yelled 
at  the  top  of  their  voices,  jumped  hither  and 
thither,  struggled  and  tussled  with  each  other 
like  madmen,  grasping  for  the  dollar— grab- 
bing after  the  dollars  that  the  wealth  pro- 
ducer had  created,  without  giving  value  re- 
ceived; out  there  in  the  harbor  men-of-war 
were  anchored  at  half  mast  with  their  iron 
ribs  and  steel  lungs  throbbing— challenging 
all  the  world  to  deny  the  rights  of  the  Ameri- 
can citizen  under  the  Constitution;  the  flags 
of  every  nation  waved  in  the  atmosphere  as 
the  ships  of  commerce  passed  hither  and 
thither,  bringing  and  carrying  the  commerce 

120 


TEE  CAUSE 


of  the  world  created  by  the  great  wealth  pro- 
ducing classes. 

All  of  this  time,  quietly  and  silently,  the 
the  creators  and  controllers  of  the  great  trust 
and  corporate  combines  continued  their 
silent  meetings  in  the  little  room  on  Wall 
Street,  in  the  rear  of  Slogan  &  Company's 
Banking  House.  John  Fukelow,  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  the  cradle  of  American 
democracy.  President  of  The  International 
Amalgamated  Tobacco  Company;  Thos. 
Shots,  President  of  the  International  Steel  & 
Iron  Trust ;  Jacob  Heinstein,  President  of  the 
International  Sugar  Trust;  John  Sukelow,  y*^ 
President  of  the  International  Oil  Com- 
pany;  Wm.  Morgan,  President  of  The  ^^'^ 
American  &  Continental  Cotton  Com- 
pany; John  Henson,  President  of  the 
American  &  Continental  Wheat  &  Com 
Company ;  Thos.  Hall,  President  of  the  great 
International  Steamship  Company;  John 
Walton,  President  of  the  great  American  & 
Pacific  Union  Railway  Company;  Henry 
Baker,  President  of  the  great  Northeastern 
&  New  England  Railway  Company;  Henry 
Simpson,  President  of  the  great  Southeastern 

121 


"X/ 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


and  Southwestern  Eailway  Company;  and 
Pont  Slogan,  head  of  the  Banking  House  of 
Pont  Slogan  &  Company,  whose  chief  busi- 
ness it  was  to  organize  and  control  these  busi- 
ness institutions;  and  others,  were  as  a  rule 
always  present  at  the  meetings.  Mr.  Slogan 
was  chairman  of  the  organization  and  pre- 
sided as  a  rule,  for  the  reason  that  his  Bank- 
ing House  organized  these  institutions  and 
*  ^  financed ' '  them.  These  meetings  were  com- 
posed of  men  unique  in  character— Mr.  Slo- 
gan, who  was  the  leader,  and  whose  business 
judgment  was  always  respected,  was  the  per- 
sonification of  the  purpose  of  the  men  who 
met  there— heavy,  stoutly  built,  with  a  thick 
neck,  red  face,  broad  nose,  large  steel  gray 
eyes,  with  a  facial  expression  that  indicated 
two  dominant  elements  in  his  nature— intel- 
lect and  animal— the  power  to  make  money, 
and  the  animal  to  take  what  others  create 
without  any  moral  standard  of  right  or  any 
remorse  for  having  done  wrong. 

These  meetings  had  gone  on  for  month 
after  month,  and  year  in  and  year  out,  before 
the  day  of  the  family  reunion  at  Summer 
Hill.    The   effects   of  the  institutions   that 

122 


THE  CAUSE 


these  men  were  fixing  upon  the  country  had 
just  begun  to  be  realized  by  the  people  then. 
The  newspaper  agitation  was  stirring  up  pub- 
lic sentiment,  and  Mr.  Slogan  and  his  execu- 
tive committee  of  the  organization  thought  it 
was  time  that  something  was  done  to  suppress 
public  sentiment ;  so  as  public  sentiment  grew, 
he  became  more  apprehensive  and  called  a 
meeting  of  the  organization  for  special  pur- 
poses. 

It  was  a  cold,  damp  night,  one  of  those 
usual  snow  storms  that  come  from  the  great 
northeast  and  hover  over  New  York  during 
the  bitter  winter  season— the  wind  was  howl- 
ing everywhere,  Broadway  and  Wall  Street 
were  blockaded  with  ice  and  snow,  the  electric 
cars  had  ceased  to  move,  the  storm  was  rag- 
ing everywhere,  the  snow  was  falling  fast  in 
such  flakes  that  the  thousands  who  attempted 
to  go  from  their  places  of  business  to 
their  homes  dashed  against  each  other, 
blinded  by  the  snow  and  the  storm;  the  ele- 
vated cars  were  slipping,  balking  on  the 
frozen  and  icy  tracks,— the  whole  city  was 
frozen  and  locked ;  the  thousands  of  the  poor 
and  unfortunate  on  the  east  side  were  shiver- 


123 


THE  STRUGGLE 


ing,  perishing  and  dying  witti  hunger,  but  at 
the  appointed  time  Pont  Slogan  and  his  asso- 
ciates had  made  their  way  to  the  room  in  the 
rear  of  his  Banking  House  on  Wall  Street. 
Without  any  ceremonies  or  formalities,  he 
pulled  off  his  heavy  fur  overcoat,  his  thick 
gloves,  his  warm  fur  cap  and  handed  them  to 
the  porter  to  place  upon  the  rack,  and  without 
passing  any  compliments  of  the  occasion  or 
shaking  hands  with  his  associates,  he  passed 
abruptly  to  the  chair  with  an  expression  of 
defiance  and  determination  upon  his  face. 
He  and  his  associates  had  met  there  for  their 
purposes,  unmindful  of  the  thousands  of 
human  beings  out  on  the  public  highways 
moving  the  great  traffic  of  the  country  to  pro- 
duce wealth  for  them,  and  who  were  exposed 
to  the  wind  and  storm  and  freezing  blizzards ; 
unmindful  of  the  great  spiritual  world  around 
them  and  of  Varuna,  the  God  of  the  Aryans ; 
of  Jehovah,  the  God  of  the  Jews;  and  the 
Nazarene,  the  God  of  the  Gentiles ;  unmindful 
of  the  great  spiritual  Being  of  the  Universe, 
who  makes  and  unmakes  nations,  creates  and 
destroys  empires,  who  measures  the  acts  of 
men  by  his  own  standard  of  right,  and  in  the 

124 


THE  CAUSE 


end  corrects  all  wrongs ;  unmindful  of  the  fact 
that  in  a  few  gassing  years  they  would  go  the 
way  of  all  of  mankind,  and  that  all  that  was 
human  of  them,  when  their  spirits  have 
passed  into  the  great  Unknown  and  into  the 
great  spiritual  world,  would  be  placed  away 
to  sleep  in  the  same  Mother  Earth  where  all 
that  is  mortal  of  the  thousands  of  paupers 
has  been  placed;  unmindful  of  all  of  these 
facts,  he  and  his  associates  were  there,  grasp- 
ing for  more  money,  more  power,— even  for 
power  to  defy  all  law,  all  constitutions,  all  ex- 
ecutive power,  all  government  and  the  sov- 
ereign will  of  the  people.  He  arose  half  mad 
and  half  stammering  and  said :  *  *  Gentlemen,  I 
have  called  this  meeting  for  a  purpose.  It  is  a 
serious  hour  with  the  business  interests  of  the 
country— demagogues  and  ^yellow  journalism' 
are  great  menaces  to  business  institutions; 
they  are  continually  stirring  up  strife  and 
playing  upon  the  prejudice  and  ignorance  of 
the  people.  It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  call 
your  attention  to  this  stuff— agitation  that 
you  have  seen  in  the  papers  for  some  time, 
and  the  bills  filed  in  the  courts  by  these  dema- 
gogues, parading  themselves  as  patriots.    Of 

125 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


course  you  know  and  I  know  that  their  only 
purpose  is  to  mislead  the  people,  and  they 
have  filed  these  bills  against  business  institu- 
tions for  this  purpose.  I  see,  out  in  San 
Francisco,  a  bill  has  been  filed  against  the 
sugar  trust,  as  they  call  it;  in  Chicago  some 
other  demagogues  have  gotten  together  and 
filed  one  against  the  corn  and  sugar  trust; 
then  in  New  York  these  demagogues  are  com- 
peting with  each  other  to  see  who  can 
get  to  the  courts  first  with  bills  against 
various  institutions.  There  has  been  a  bill, 
as  you  know,  filed  against  the  steel  trust,  one 
over  in  New  Jersey  against  the  Tobacco 
Trust.  You  and  I  know  that  they  are  mere 
business  institutions,  created  for  legitimate 
purposes,  but  these  demagogues  invariably 
designate  them  in  their  bills,  as  trusts,  and 
this  damnable  litigation,  instituted  by  these 
demagogues,  makes  meat  for  these  sensa- 
tional newspapers,  and  the  whole  country 
seems  to  have  gone  mad  with  demagogism 
and  degenerated  into  a  spirit  of  anarchy. 
Legal  rights  and  rights  of  business  interests 
seem  to  be  no  longer  regarded  nor  consid- 
ered.   The  purpose  of  this  meeting  is  to 

126 


THE  CAUSE 


formulate  plans  to  suppress  the  efforts  of 
these  demagogues  and  anarchists.  The 
'Chair'  is  now  ready  to  hear  any  suggestions 
from  any  of  you  gentlemen  present— your  in- 
terests, as  well  as  mine,  are  involved,  and  I 
am  sure  that  in  this  contest,  where  war  is 
being  made  upon  the  business  interests  of  this 
country  by  demagogues  and  anarchists,  all 
you  gentlemen  will  stand  together  as  one 
man.''  And  Mr.  Slogan,  heavy  and  chuffy 
and  ponderous,  with  his  red  face  flushing  with 
indignation,  sat  down  and  leaned  back  in  his 
big  arm  chair. 

At  this  point,  Mr.  John  Fukelow,  President 
of  the  Amalgamated  Tobacco  Company,  arose. 
He  stood  six  feet  some  inches  high,  weighed 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds,  with  a 
red,  rough,  coarse  face— his  physical  form, 
manners,  character  and  actions  proved  be- 
yond doubt  that  he  was  a  man  that  cared  not 
for  taste,  refinement,  culture  nor  the  rights  of 
others,  but  the  animal  predominated  in  him, 
and  dollars  constituted  his  only  object  in  life. 
*'Mr.  Chairman,  you  are  right,  sir— the  busi- 
ness institutions  of  this  country  will  stand 
together,  and  we  are  going  to  have  our  rights. 

127 


THE  STRUGGLE 


Every  one  of  these  demagogues  and  anarch- 
ists ought  to  be  in  the  penitentiary;  and  these 
sensational  newspapers,  stirring  up  strife  and 
agitation  among  the  people,  ought  to  be  driven 
out  of  business  and  the  damnable  editors 
ought  to  be  in  the  chaingang.  I,  for  one,  be- 
lieve in  crushing  them  and  putting  them  out 
of  busmess.  We  have  got  the  money,  and 
money  will  do  anything,  and  I  am  in  favor  of 
turning  loose  enough  money  to  put  them  out 
of  business.  I  tell  you,  the  only  way  to  do 
this  thing  is  to  absolutely  take  charge  of  the 
elections  (we  have  been  doing  business  in  that 
line,  but  we  have  not  done  enough  of  it) ,  and 
to  elect  such  officers  as  we  know  will  do  what 
we  want  done,  and  to  elect  legislators  and 
judges  and  the  congressmen  and  the  govern- 
ors—and know  that  they  will  do  what  we  want 
done.  You  see  the  people  are  like  sheep— 
they  can  be  led  astray  by  these  demagogues, 
and  if  we  will  spend  enough  money  to  take 
charge  of  the  politics  of  both  of  the  great 
parties,  we  can  elect  men  that  we  can  control, 
and  then  these  damned  newspapers  and  dema- 
gogues can  howl  all  they  want  to,  and  we  will 

128 


THE  CAUSE 


go  on  with  our  business.     These  are  my  senti- 
ments, Mr.  Chairman.'' 

At  this  point  Mr.  Jacob  Heinstein,  Presi- 
dent of  the  International  Sugar  Trust,  arose. 
He  bore  the  chief  characteristics  of  his  race. 
He  possessed  more  refinement  and  culture 
than  Mr.  Fukelow,  and  though  he  was  raised 
in  America,  his  mother  tongue  for  centuries, 
Hebrew,  was  plainly  in  evidence  when  he 
spoke,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  state  that  he 
loved  the  dollar.  *'Mr.  Chairman,  I  fully 
agree  with  de  remarks  of  de  chair  and  de 
gentleman  who  has  just  spoken.  Dis  is  a 
very  serious  matter  to  ^buisiness'  institutions 
and  de  general  'buisiness'  interests  of  de 
country.  I  know  dat  de  sugar  interests  is 
suffering  from  de  attacks  of  dese  men  in  de 
courts.  De  gentleman  who  preceded  me 
said  dat  *  what  we  must  do  is  to  take  charge  of 
de  elections  and  elect  officers  who  will  protect 
de  ^^buisiness"  interests  of  the  country.'  I 
thought,  Mr.  Chairman,  dat  dat  was  what  we 
had  been  doing.  It  has  been  my  understand- 
ing all  de  time  dat  we  had  committees  duly 
appointed  for  dis  purpose— I  thought  dat  we 
had   a   kind   of  co-operative   understanding 

129 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


about  dese  matters,  and  dat  our  various  in- 
terests had  men,  under  titles  of  ^general 
agents',  *  special  agents'  and  ^advisory  coun- 
sels', in  de  various  states  to  look  after  dese 
political  matters,  legislation,  and  to  see  dat 
proper  men  were  elected  to  ofiSce— I  mean 
by  dat,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  see  dat  men  would 
be  elected  who  would  not  be  detrimental  to 
our  interests  and  to  de  ^buisiness'  interests  of 
de  country.  We  have  got  to  do  something, 
Mr.  Chairman— all  of  dis  agitation  is  hurt- 
ing our  *buisiness'.  I  am  perfectly  willing  to 
co-operate  with  de  organization  in  anything 
to  protect  our  ^buisiness',  and  I  would  like  to 
hear  from  some  other  gentlemen." 

At  this  point  Mr.  Thos.  Shots,  President  of 
the  International  Steel  &  Iron  Trust,  arose. 
**Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  in  favor  of  going  about 
this  matter  in  a  businesslike  way.  We  own 
and  control  over  one-half  of  the  wealth  of  this 
country— we  have  got  more  money  than  the 
National  Government  and  the  governments  of 
all  the  states— and  money  will  do  any  thing- 
money  makes  and  unmakes  laws,  money 
makes  and  unmakes  wars,  money  makes  and 
unmakes  governments,  money  will  buy  the 

130 


TEE  CAUSE 


people— you  know  they  are  just  like  so  many 
sheep— they  can  be  led  anywhere  and  bought 
at  all  times.  I  am  in  favor  of  appointing  a 
committee  to  take  charge  of  this  matter,  and 
let  us  summon  the  *  advisory  counsels',  the 
'special  agents'  and  *  general  agents'  from  all 
parts  of  this  country  who  have  charge  of  the 
political  interests  of  the  respective  business 
institutions,  and  let  us  confer  with  them  and 
put  sufficient  means  at  their  disposal,  and  let 
them  go  to  their  respective  homes  and  take 
charge  of  these  matters  in  their  respective 
states,  and  by  systematic  co-operation,  we  can 
suppress  all  of  this  agitation  and  it  will  soon 
blow  over  and  the  business  interests  will  go  on 
prospering.  I  make  a  motion,  Mr.  Chairman, 
that  the  Chair  appoint  a  committee  of  five, 
of  which  the  Chair  shall  be  chairman,  and  that 
this  committee  be  fully  authorized  to  summon 
all  of  the  *  advisory  counsels',  *  special  agents' 
and  ^general  agents'  from  all  sections  of  the 
country  to  meet  with  us  here  at  a  stated  time, 
and  we  will  take  this  matter  up  in  systematic 
order  and  a  businesslike  way." 
**I  second  the  motion,"  said  Mr.  Morgan, 

131 


THE  STRUGGLE 


President  of  the  American  &  Continental  Cot- 
ton Co.'' 

The  chairman  put  the  motion,  which  was 
duly  carried,  and  then  appointed  his  com- 
mittee and  stated  the  time  of  the  next  meet- 
ing, and  then  the  meeting  adjourned  to  meet 
as  arranged. 


132 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE    NEXT   MEETING 


AT  the  stated  time  Pont  Slogan  and  his 
associates  reassembled  at  their  meet- 
ing place  in  the  rear  of  his  Banking 
House.  There  were  present,  John  Pukelow, 
of  The  International  Amalgamated  Tobacco 
Co.,  Thos.  Shots  of  The  International  Steel  & 
Iron  Trust,  Jacob  Heinstein  of  The  Interna- 
tional Sugar  Trust,  John  Sukelow  of  The  In- 
ternational Oil  Co.,  Wm.  Morgan  of  The 
American  &  Continental  Cotton  Co.,  John 
Henson  of  The  American  &  Continental  Corn 
&  Wheat  Co.,  Thos.  Hall  of  the  great  Inter- 
national Steamship  Co.,  John  Walton  of  the 
American  &  Pacific  Railway  Co.,  Henry  Poke 
of  the  ISTortheastern  &  New  England  Railway 
Co.,  Henry  Simpson  of  the  Southeastern  anl 
Southwestern  Railway  Co.,  and  Thos.  Jones 
of  The  United  International  Casualty  Co.,  and 
many  other  ** Captains  of  Finance.'^    These 

133 


THE  STRUGGLE 


gentlemen  met  a  few  minutes  before  the  ap- 
pointed time  for  a  private  conference,  then 
they  strolled  from  the  anteroom  to  their  usual 
meeting  place. 

There  was  this  difference  in  the  arrange- 
ment for  this  meeting  from  the  other  one, 
however,  the  doors  had  been  thrown  wide 
open  into  the  adjacent  of&ces  on  this  floor  in 
the  building  to  make  room  for  the  **  Advisory 
Counsels,"  *^ Special  Agents"  and  ^'General 
Agents,"  and  the  entire  floor  had  been  prac- 
tically converted  into  one  hall  so  these  gen- 
tlemen could  be  comfortably  seated.  Pont 
Slogan  and  his  associates  walked  to  their 
usual  seats,  confident  because  the  entire  hall 
that  had  been  thrown  open  for  the  meeting 
was  filled  with  their  lieutenants.  The  con- 
trast between  these  ** Captains  of  Finance" 
and  their  lieutenants  was  something  noticea- 
ble. These  *' Captains  of  Finance"  were 
rough,  uncouth,  and  as  a  rule,  illiterate ;  ani- 
mal nature  and  brute  force  dominated  their 
characters;  they  possessed  no  knowledge  of 
literature,  culture  and  refinement  and  the  bet- 
ter things  of  life.  The  literature  of  Greece 
and  Eome  and  the  arts  of  the  ancients  were 

134 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


unknown  quantities  to  them.  What  did  they 
care  for  the  theories  of  government  that  phil- 
osophers had  thought  out  through  the  cen- 
turies to  rule  mankind ;  what  did  they  care  for 
the  abstract  right  in  the  science  of  human  gov- 
ernment; what  did  they  care  for  the  laws  of 
sociology;  what  did  they  care  for  the  great 
economical  principles  of  common  justice 
among  men  ?  Not  anything.  They  were  gov- 
erned by  their  animal  natures  and  brute  force ; 
ready  and  willing  to  crush  every  law  of  com- 
mon justice,  every  theory  that  statesmen  and 
philosophers  had  thought  out  to  govern  organ- 
ized society,  every  abstract  principle  of  jus- 
tice, or  any  other  proposition  to  secure  more 
dollars. 

Their  lieutenants,  the  **  Advisory  Coun- 
sels," **  Special  Agents''  and  **  General 
Agents''  were  men  of  different  type.  As  a 
rule  they  were  men  of  more  or  less  refinement, 
culture  and  intelligence;  men  trained  in  the 
art  and  skill  of  controlling  other  men  of  less 
intelligence ;  men  who  had  secured  the  consent 
of  their  own  minds  to  become  the  representa- 
tives of  the  great  corporations  and  trusts  and 
to  manipulate  the  small  politician  and  law- 

135 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


maker  of  the  country,  regardless  of  principle 
or  right ;  men  who  had  secured  the  consent  of 
their  own  minds  to  believe  in  either  free  trade 
or  protection,  bimetallism  or  monometallism, 
Jeffersonianism  or  Hamiltonianism,  as  was 
most  convenient  to  them  or  the  clients  that 
they  represented.  They  had  no  conviction  on 
any  issue,  political  or  otherwise.  Politically, 
they  could  advocate  the  cause  of  the  Eepubli- 
can  party,  the  Democratic  party,  the  Populist 
party,  the  Socialist  party,  or  any  other  party 
that,  for  the  time  being,  would  be  for  the  in- 
terest of  the  clients  that  they  represented. 
These  gentlemen  who  pass  under  the  various 
titles  of  '* Advisory  Counsels,"  '* Special 
Agents"  and  *' General  Agents,"  as  a  rule 
constitute  the  *  *  Third  House ' '  of  the  various 
Legislatures  of  the  different  states  throughout 
the  Union,  and  as  a  rule  hold  their  meetings 
in  their  rooms  at  the  hotels  where  a  few  select 
politicians  are  invited  to  decide  what  bills 
the  Legislatures  shall  pass  or  kill  during  the 
day  that  is  to  follow.  As  a  rule,  these  men 
are  always  selected  with  good  tact  and  judg- 
ment and  always  put  the  interest  of  their  cli- 
ents above  their  feelings.     They  never  irri- 

136 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


tate  the  local  politician,  but  always  curry  him 
the  right  way. 

As  Pont  Slogan  entered  the  presiding  offi- 
cer's chair,  the  animal  was  dominating  his 
entire  being— on  his  face  was  the  expression 
of  brute  force— it  was  the  face  that  the  orphan 
and  the  widow  would  not  approach  for  help— 
the  face  that  would  tell  the  sick  and  the  help- 
less that  no  mercy  was  to  be  extended.  With 
the  animal  force  and  tenacity  of  the  bulldog, 
he  looked  over  the  heads  of  his  associates  into 
the  faces  of  the  lieutenants  assembled  before 
him,  and  said,  **I  am  glad  to  see  you  gentle- 
men here,— we  have  invited  you  here  for  a 
special  purpose ;  I  do  not  doubt  you  gentlemen 
have  been  doing  your  best  to  control  the  leg- 
islatures in  the  shaping  of  the  laws  of  the 
country  for  our  interest;  I  do  not  doubt  that 
you  have  used  every  dollar  that  we  have 
placed  in  your  hands  for  political  purposes, 
to  the  very  best  advantage  possible  from  your 
standpoint;  I  do  not  doubt  that  you  have 
been  faithful  employees— have  done  your 
best  to  give  our  interests  such  privileges  and 
protection  as  we  need  to  carry  on  our  busi- 
ness ;  I  do  not  doubt  your  discretion  and  good 

137 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


judgment;  I  do  not  doubt  your  capacity  to 
handle  men  and  to  see  that  proper  legisla- 
tion is  enacted  and  that  proper  officials  are 
elected  to  office  to  give  us  protection.  My 
associates  here  with  me,  I  am  satisfied,  agree 
with  me  fully  in  this  expression  of  my  confi- 
dence in  you;  we  have  not  summoned  you 
here  to  admonish  you  nor  to  abuse  you;  w6 
have  not  summoned  you  here  to  deliver  any 
unpleasant  remarks  to  you,  but  we  have  sum- 
moned you  here,  gentlemen,  to  let  you  know 
the  real  condition  of  things,  and  to  let  you 
know  what  is  needed  to  be  done.  It  is  unneces- 
sary for  me  to  state  to  you  that  a  great  many 
bills  have  been  filed  in  the  Courts  of  Equity 
in  the  various  states  against  our  institutions, 
charging  that  we  are  destroying  competition 
in  trade  and  that  we  are  creating  a  monopoly ; 
and  if  these  bills  are  to  be  enforced  by  the 
courts,  then  of  course  these  institutions  must 
dissolve,  and  as  business  institutions  go  out 
of  business,  and  of  course  it  is  unnecessary 
for  me  to  state  that  when  they  go  out  of  busi- 
ness, that  we  will  no  longer  need  your  services 
and  you  will  have  to  look  elsewhere  for  em- 
ployment.   It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  state 

138 


TEE  NEXT  MEETING 


to  you  that  a  great  many  of  the  Legislatures 
of  the  various  states  are  trying  to  pass  what 
they  call  anti-trust  laws,  which  strike  at  the 
very  heart  of  our  business,  and  if  these  bills 
become  laws  and  are  enforced  by  the  courts  it 
means  that  these  business  institutions,  as  cor- 
porations, must  dissolve.  It  is  unnecessary 
for  me  to  state  to  you  that  even  the  National 
Government  at  Washington  is  attempting  to 
interfere  with  our  business ;  that  Congress  is 
tampering  with  what  they  call  another  and  a 
stronger  anti-trust  bill.  You  gentlemen  know 
these  facts,  for  it  is  your  business  to  know 
them— that  is  what  we  pay  you  for— that  is 
what  you  get  our  money  for ;  we  have  selected 
you  on  account  of  your  good  judgment,  on 
account  of  your  tact  and  your  ability  to  man- 
age men,  and  to  create  and  defeat  legislation ; 
and  there  has  never  been  a  time  when  you 
gentlemen  informed  us  that  you  needed  more 
money  to  carry  out  political  and  legislative 
policies  that  were  for  the  interest  of  our  busi- 
ness, that  we  did  not  willingly  respond.  In 
states  where  the  two  political  parties  are 
about  evenly  divided,  these  institutions,  act- 
ing in  concert,  have  always  selected  about  an 

139 


THE  STRUGGLE 


even  number  of  you  gentlemen  here  from  eacli 
of  the  great  parties.  In  the  states  where  the 
Eepublican  party  controls,  of  course  we  have 
selected  representatives  from  the  Eepublican 
party;  in  the  states  where  the  Democratic 
party  controls,  we  have  selected  representa- 
tives from  the  Democratic  party;  and  when 
you  gentlemen  who  represent  these  states 
where  the  Eepublican  party  controls,  have 
called  on  us  for  funds  for  the  cam- 
paign, we  have  always  responded;  and 
when  you  gentlemen  who  represent  us 
in  the  states  where  the  Democratic  party 
controls,  have  called  on  us  for  funds  for 
the  campaign,  we  have  always  responded; 
and  in  those  states  where  the  two  great  par- 
ties are  about  evenly  divided,  we  have  contrib- 
uted liberally  to  both  parties  through  you 
gentlemen.  Of  course  you  gentlemen  under- 
stand that  we,  as  business  men,  have  no  poli- 
tics—that our  politics  is  the  money  that  we 
can  make  out  of  our  business,  and  we  have 
selected  you  in  the  manner  named  because  it 
was  for  our  business  interest  to  do  so ;  and  in 
those  states  where  the  two  great  parties  are 
about  evenly  divided,  of  course  we  have  ex- 

140 


TEE  NEXT  MEETING 


pected  yon  gentlemen  who  are  Democrats  to 
control  all  Democratic  legislation,  and  yon 
gentlemen  who  are  Republicans  to  control 
Republican  legislation;  but  notwithstanding 
all  of  this,  gentlemen,  and  notwithstanding 
all  the  funds  that  we  have  placed  at  your  dis- 
posal to  control  the  politics  of  the  great  polit- 
ical parties— of  the  legislation  of  the  country, 
our  business  is  being  threatened  and  is  in 
danger— these  infernal  yellow  journal  news- 
papers and  damned  demagogues  are  stirring 
up  agitation  until  public  sentiment  is  being 
aroused  against  us  and  our  business,  and  we 
have  summoned  you  here  to  exchange  opin- 
ions and  views  with  you  as  to  what  is  for  the 
best  and  to  devise  plans  and  ways  and  means 
for  the  future  so  as  to  crush  out  this  agitation ; 
and  we  are  now  ready  to  hear  from  you  gen- 
tlemen ;  we  want  every  one  to  be  free  with  his 
opinion— and  let's  have  a  full  and  free  ex- 
pression." 

At  this  point,  Judge  John  Horton  of  Geor- 
gia, Advisory  Counsel  of  the  Great  South- 
eastern &  Southwestern  Ry.  Co.,  arose.  Judge 
Horton  stood  some  six  feet  one  inch,  weighed 
two  hundred   and  twenty-five   pounds,  was 

141 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


clean-shaven,  had  a  smiling  and  agreeable 
expression  that  played  over  his  face,  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eye  that  would  catch  his  worst 
enemy  and  make  him  his  bosom  friend,  a 
handshake  that  would  take  hold  of  the  soul  of 
his  bitterest  foe. 

**Mr.  Chairman,"  said  Judge  Horton,  ''of 
course  you  know  I  am  from  a  Democratic 
state— the  Democratic  party  absolutely  con- 
trols Georgia  and  that  section  of  the  Union; 
and  as  our  system  extends  its  trunk  lines 
throughout  the  Atlantic  States  and  practically 
controls  the  transportation  of  that  section, 
and  therefore  the  policy  which  we  have  pur- 
sued in  controlling  the  political  situation  and 
legislation  in  that  section,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  has  been  largely  influenced  by  our  sys- 
tem, and  I  deem  it  not  out  of  place  here  to 
make  some  suggestion  as  to  the  methods  that 
we  have  pursued.  First,  we  make  it  a  rule 
never  to  offend  the  local  politician.  Don't 
care  how  ignorant  or  how  insignificant  he  is, 
if  he  can  get  the  nomination  for  the  Legisla- 
ture or  some  other  office,  he  deems  himself  a 
man  of  great  importance,  and  we  of  course 

142 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


make  him  believe  that  we  think  he  is  a  man  of 
importance. 

*^The  best  way  that  I  have  found,  Mr. 
Chairman,  is  to  commence  in  time— I  keep  in 
touch  in  my  state  with  the  aspirations  of  all  of 
the  local  politicians,  and  when  the  Democratic 
primaries  are  coming  on,  I  endeavor  to  ascer- 
tain who  will  probably  be  the  strongest  man 
in  the  various  counties,  who  has  aspirations 
to  go  to  the  Legislature,  and  after  I  ascertain 
the  one  who  is  probably  going  to  be  nom- 
inated, I  set  out  to  make  his  acquaintance; 
very  probably  I  make  a  trip  through  his 
county  and  make  it  a  point  to  meet  him  and 
get  in  touch  with  him,  and  I  generally  leave 
him  with  the  imiDression  that  he  has  made 
quite  an  impression  upon  me  and  that  a  strong 
affinity  naturally  exists  between  us,  and  there- 
fore, friendship,  and  on  my  return  home  I 
write  him  a  nice  letter  on  this  order : 

*'  'Hon.  John  Jones,  Hicksboro,  Ga. 

*'  *My  dear  Mr.  Jones:  It  is  unnecessary 
for  me  to  say  that  I  appreciate  having  made 
your  acquaintance  while  in  your  town  some 
days  ago— friendship  is  a  rare  thing  in  life, 

143 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


and  the  thing  above  all  things  to  be  appre- 
ciated. It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say  that 
in  the  future  I  shall  count  it  a  special  privi- 
lege to  number  you  among  my  real  friends. 
The  next  time  that  you  are  in  my  town,  do 
not  stop  at  the  hotel  but  do  me  the  honor  to  be 
my  guest  at  my  home.  I  will  be  delighted  to 
have  you  in  my  home,  and  to  have  you  know 
my  family. 

*'  'I  wish  in  some  way  to  let  you  feel  my 
friendship  for  you,  and  since  leaving  you  the 
other  day,  I  have  decided  to  send  you  an  an- 
nual pass  for  you  and  your  good  wife,  which 
I  hope  you  can  use  in  a  trip  to  the  *  *  Springs. ' ' 
Always,  with  many  good  wishes,  I  am, 

**  *Your  friend, 

**  *  John  Horton.' 

**0f  course  he  is  flattered  by  a  letter  of  this 
kind  and  the  pass.  First,  he  thinks  it  is  real 
friendship,  and  second,  he  feels  his  impor- 
tance and  it  flatters  his  vanity  for  him  and  his 
wife  to  be  able  to  ride  on  passes  when  his 
neighbors  have  to  pay  their  fare. 

**When  he  is  elected  to  the  Legislature  and 
I  meet  him  in  Atlanta,  all  I  have  to  do  is  to 

144 


TEE  NEXT  MEETING 


renew  my  friendsliip— he  is  one  of  my  old 
friends.  And  of  course  when  I  appeal  to  him 
not  to  vote  for  this  measure  because  it  is  a 
fanatical  measure  supported  by  a  parcel  of 
cranks  and  he  is  a  man  of  too  much  sense  to 
support  it,  why  I  have  no  trouble  in  control- 
ling him. 

**Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  as  to  litigation;— 
and  you  know  we  kill  and  cripple  a  great  many 
men,— the  railroads  in  this  country  kill  more 
people  annually  than  were  killed  in  the  same 
length  of  time  in  the  Confederate  army;  and 
kill  and  cripple  more  people  annually  than  the 
entire  Confederate  army  was  ever  able  to 
muster  at  one  time.  You  see  we  have  got  to 
work  these  men  to  run  our  business,  and  of 
course  we  have  got  to  cripple  and  kill  them, 
and  if  we  had  to  pay  the  real  legal  liabilities, 
it  would  take  thousands  of  dollars— in  fact  we 
could  not  pay  dividends  on  that  part  of  our 
stock  which  is  commonly  termed  ^watered,' 
so  we  have  a  thoroughly  organized  system; 
—as  soon  as  there  is  a  wreck,  we  start  our 
wrecking  train  with  our  physicians  on  it; 
—  of  course  they  understand  their  business— 
they  know  for  what  purpose  we  send  them;— 

145 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


they  get  to  the  patient  first;  and  as  a  rnle 
these  patients  are  unskilled;— a  great  many 
of  them  are  illiterate,  untrained  and  untutored 
in  law  suits,  and  they  think  we  send  our  phy- 
sicians because  we  want  to  administer  med- 
ical aid  to  them,  but  of  course  our  purpose 
is  to  keep  physicians,  who  are  not  employed 
by  us,  away  and  have  the  injured  treated  by 
our  own  physicians  who  can  take  care  of  us 
on  the  witness  stand  as  to  the  injuries;  and 
then,  too,  we  generally  try  to  control  the  hos- 
pitals in  the  various  cities  where  these 
patients  are  carried,  and  see  that  no  physician 
gets  on  the  staff  unless  he  is  friendly  disposed 
toward  us  and  rides  on  our  passes ;  and  fur- 
thermore, as  soon  as  these  accidents  happen, 
we  send  out  our  detectives  and  our  evidence 
men  who  understand  what  is  necessary  to 
make  a  defense,  and  men,  Mr.  Chairman,  who 
are  trained  in  the  business.  And  while  they 
are  carrying  the  dead  and  the  wounded  to 
their  homes,  why  these  men  get  sworn  state- 
ments and  the  proper  evidence  to  make  an  ab- 
solute defense.  You  see  when  these  accidents 
happen,  there  are  always  a  great  many  ne- 
groes and  illiterate  white  people  around,  and 

146 


TEE  NEXT  MEETING 


then,  too,  there  are  a  great  many  people  who, 
by  treating  them  right,  you  can  get  to  make 
statements  that  will  cover  the  point  that  you 
want.  Our  men  understand  this— they  get  all 
the  statements  they  can  from  the  negro  and 
the  irresponsible  white  man,  and  then  if  there 
happens  to  be  a  white  man  of  a  good  deal  of 
intelligence  who  doesn't  wish  to  sign  an  affi- 
davit just  as  our  men  draw  it,  why,  they  treat 
him  nicely  and  extend  him  a  good  many  cour- 
tesies, and  then  send  him  an  annual  pass,  and 
by  the  time  the  trial  comes  on,  they  generally 
have  a  statement  from  him  that  is  sufficient  to 
win  the  case.  In  fact,  if  the  man  is  killed,  by 
the  time  his  widow  gets  through  with  the 
funeral,  our  men  have  the  evidence  by  which 
we  can  win  the  case ;  if  he  is  crippled,  by  the 
time  he  is  able  to  get  out  and  about,  they  are 
prepared  to  defeat  him  in  the  Court  House. 
So,  down  with  us,  Mr.  Chairman,  we  have  con- 
trolled the  legal  situation  very  well.  We  gen- 
erally defeat  such  legislation  as  we  don't 
want,  and  have  such  passed  as  we  want,  and 
we  don't  pay  over  10  per  cent  of  our  actual 
legal  liabilities  in  litigation.  Let  me  illustrate 
by  calling  your  attention  to  an  actual  circum- 

147 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


stance.  Our  road  ran  across  an  old  creek 
down  in  our  section,  called  Clamp  Creek.  The 
old  bridge  across  it  was  rotten  and  worn  out, 
and  the  foundation  was  rotten  and  decayed, 
and  we  had  been  filling  in  the  washouts  under 
it  for  some  years  instead  of  erecting  a  new 
bridge  across  the  place,  and  there  came  a  rain 
one  night  and  the  creek  arose  considerably 
and  the  old  bridge  was  washed  away  and  the 
passenger  train  came  along  and  ran  into  the 
creek  and  killed  and  crippled  some  fifty  or 
one  hundred  people,— and  of  course  we  were 
absolutely  liable,  and  some  of  the  men  who 
were  killed  were  high  salaried  men  and  whose 
lives  were  worth  considerable  money.  To  pay 
for  all  the  men  we  killed  and  crippled  would 
have  taken  several  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
"Well,  it  taxed  our  wits  to  devise  some  means 
of  defense.  Finally  we  fell  on  to  the  only 
possible  and  conceivable  defense  we  could 
make,— that  the  rain  was  such  a  storm  as 
never  could  have  been  expected  and  that  the 
bridge  was  absolutely  sound  and  perfect  in 
every  way,  and  that  the  storm  was  such  that 
the  whole  stream  was  backed  up  for  miles  and 
the  railroad  embankment  and  track  consti- 


148 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


tuted  a  dam  and  that  it  was  an  absolute  im- 
possibility for  the  water  to  pass  under  the 
bridge  and  therefore  it  was  washed  away. 
And  we  got  our  civil  engineers  and  our  ex- 
perts, high  class  men,  men  to  whom  we  were 
paying  high  salaries,  and  we  went  before  the 
jury  with  that  defense,— and  you  know  we 
made  that  jury  believe  that  it  was  Provi- 
dential, and  won  out  on  it.  You  see  it  is  this 
way,  Mr.  Chairman— the  average  juror 
thinks  he  is  prejudiced  against  corporations 
and  railways,  but  we  employ  such  skilled  men 
to  prepare  our  defenses  that  the  evidence  all 
fits  into  each  other  with  such  plausibility, 
that  we,  with  good  taste,  can  tell  the  jury  that 
all  we  want  is  justice ;  and  you  see  the  juror 
don 't  know  that  we  make  the  same  defense  in 
every  case  where  it  happens  under  similar 
circumstances  and  conditions.  Mr.  Juror  says 
to  himself:  *' While  I  believe  in  giving  the 
individual  a  fair  deal,  in  this  case  there  is  no 
legal  liability.''  He  doesn't  know  that  every 
other  case  that  other  jurors  have  had  to  pass 
on,  has  had  the  same  defense  when  the  acci- 
dent happened  under  similar  conditions.— 
That  is  the  way  we  run  our  business  in  our 

149 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


section,  Mr.  Chairman.  These  are  my  views 
and  I  would  like  to  hear  from  some  other  gen- 
tlemen present.'* 

Judge  Johnson,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Bos- 
ton, Eepublican  in  politics,  possessing  the  dis- 
cerning powers  of  the  Puritan  school,  cold  and 
deliberate,  and  who  possessed  the  power  of 
appealing  to  men  on  the  **will  it  payT'  prin- 
ciple, then  arose.  *'Mr.  Chairman,  I  fully 
agree  with  everything  that  Judge  Horton  of 
Georgia  has  said.  "VVe  run  the  business  in 
New  England  a  good  deal  like  he  says  it  is 
done  in  the  South,  but  of  course  there  is  this 
exception— there  are  two  political  parties  in 
Massachusetts,  and  the  Democratic  party  is 
somewhat  a  factor  in  the  other  New  England 
States.  However,  the  Eepublican  party,  as  a 
rule,  controls  in  New  England.  We  therefore 
select  our  leading  *^ special  agents,"  and 
** general  agents"  and  ** advisory  counsels" 
from  the  Eepublican  party,  but  we  also  have 
*^ agents"  from  the  Democratic  party;  and  of 
course  it  is  the  business  of  these  ^^ agents" 
from  the  Eepublican  party  to  control  the  Ee- 
publican politicians,  the  Eepublican  platforms 
and  the  policies  of  the  Eepublican  party ;  and 

150 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


the  men  whom  we  select  from  tlie  Democratic 
party  are  to  control  the  policies  and  the  poli- 
ticians and  the  platforms  of  the  Democratic 
party ;  and  in  either  event  you  see  we  are  rea- 
sonably safe. 

*' There  is  one  thing,  Mr.  Chairman,  that 
the  gentleman  from  Georgia  has  overlooked 
—of  course  it  is  more  familiar  to  us  of  ISTew 
England ;  namely,  a  high  protective  tariff.  We 
all  know  that  a  high  tariff  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  existence  of  the  institutions 
which  we  here  represent.  You  cannot  have  a 
combination  of  business  interests  and  cooper- 
ation in  business  affairs  which  will  control  the 
prices  of  the  producer  and  the  prices  of  the 
consumer,  unless  these  combinations  and  co- 
operations are  protected.  You  wipe  out  the 
high  protection,  and  these  institutions  which 
we  represent  here  would  disintegrate  and  go 
to  pieces.  We  would  be  compelled,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, to  dissolve  and  go  out  of  business.  The 
tobacco  combination  could  not  exist  without 
protection,  the  sugar  combination  could  not 
exist  without  protection,  the  corn  and  wheat 
combination  could  not  exist  without  protec- 
tion—in fact  none  of  these  institutions  which 

151 


THE  STRUGGLE 


we  represent  could  exist  without  protection 
in  some  manner.  You  have  got  to  have  legis- 
lation, Mr.  Chairman,  that  will  enable  us  to 
exist— call  it  class  legislation,  call  it  high 
protective  tariff  or  call  it  what  you  please— 
we  must  control  the  legislation  of  this  country 
if  we  intend  to  remain  in  business.  If  you 
wipe  out  the  protective  tariff,  every  little 
sugar  manufacturer  in  the  country  will  be  in 
business,  every  little  tobacco  manufacturer 
will  be  in  business,  and  every  other  small 
producer  in  every  other  line  of  business,  and 
thus  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand  and  com- 
petition will  regulate  and  fix  the  prices  and 
we  will  be  compelled  to  go  out  of  business. 
The  fact  of  the  business  is  this ;  you  take  the 
tobacco  interest  here  represented,  when  that 
company  was  organized  it  did  not  have  paid 
up  in  real  assets  over  25  per  cent  of  the 
stock  that  it  issued— in  other  words  three- 
fourths  of  the  stock  issued  was  what  they 
termed  Watered,'  and  the  only  asset  that  it 
really  had  in  point  of  fact,  was  the  good  will 
of  the  business.  Upon  the  good  will  of  the 
business,  75  per  cent  of  the  stock  was  issued; 
yet  these  institutions  must  pay  dividends  on 

152 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


its  stock— that  is,  it  must  pay  dividends  on  75 
per  cent  of  its  stock  on  wliicli  it  possesses  no 
assets— to  do  this,  it  is  unnecessary  to  state 
that  it  must  reduce  the  price  on  the  raw  ma- 
terial that  it  purchases  from  the  producers 
and  raise  the  price  of  the  manufactured  ma- 
terial that  it  sells  to  the  consumers.  The  same 
thing  is  true  as  to  the  wheat  and  corn  combine 
and  as  to  the  sugar  combine  and  all  the  rest  of 
these  combines.  You  take  the  railroad  in- 
terest here  represented;— of  course  the  build- 
ers and  constructors  of  these  roads  didn't  put 
any  money  in  them— they  got  concessions 
from  the  government  in  the  way  of  public 
lands  and  other  valuable  properties,— dona- 
tions from  the  states,  counties,  cities  and 
towns;  and  these  donations  constituted  their 
real  assets ;  then  they  issued  stock  and  bonds 
for  about  ten  times  the  value  of  these  assets, 
the  only  other  asset  being  the  good  will  and 
the  further  consideration  of  what  the  value 
of  the  franchises  would  be  in  the  future  when 
the  section  through  which  these  lines  run 
would  be  more  thickly  populated  and  better 
developed.  Now  for  these  institutions  to  pay 
dividends  on  their  stock  and  interest  on  their 

153 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


bonds,  of  course  they  must  be  permitted  by 
law  to  make  these  charges  or  they  would  be 
compelled  to  go  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver ; 
—in  other  words,  if  you  only  permit  them  to 
charge  a  freight  tariff  in  proportion  to  the 
real  money  they  have  invested  in  these  insti- 
tutions, they  could  not  exist.  You  may  talk 
about  the  rights  of  the  people  all  you  want  to 
—a  government  for  the  people  and  by  the 
people  and  of  the  people,  but  in  the  final 
analysis  we  must  have  class  legislation  to 
protect  these  institutions.  This  talk  about 
Democracy  and  a  government  of  the  people, 
for  the  people  and  by  the  people  is  all  stuff. 
The  few  and  money  have  run  the  gov- 
ernments since  the  beginning  of  mankind. 
Class  rule  has  dominated  in  monarchy  and 
republics  alike,  and  the  rule  is  not  going  to 
be  changed  now— things  will  go  on  as  they 
have  always  gone  on  and  the  business  insti- 
tutions here  represented  have  the  money  to 
dominate  the  politics  of  the  country,  to  rule 
and  control  all  the  political  parties,  to  em- 
ploy the  best  brains  that  the  country  produces, 
and  I  tell  you,  money  and  brains  will  do  any- 
thing, and  the  masses  will  go  on  doing  as 

154 


TEE  NEXT  MEETING 


they  have  always  done,  working  and  creating 
wealth  to  be  collected  by  the  few.  Of  course 
they  could  run  the  government  and  break  up 
our  way  of  doing  business  if  they  would  stand 
together,  but  they  will  not  unite  on  any  propo- 
sition, they  are  always  divided  and  fighting 
among  themselves;  and  with  a  sufficient 
amount  of  money  properly  spent  and  direct- 
ed, you  can  buy  them  any  time ;  you  can  send 
leaders  into  their  camps  and  create  division 
and  disorganize  them— the  fact  of  the  busi- 
ness is  that  they  are  not  a  unit  on  anything, 
never  have  been  and  never  will  be,  so  I  do  not 
apprehend  any  danger  for  our  institutions; 
we  will  go  on  changing  the  protective  tariff  to 
suit  our  needs ;  fixing  our  transportation  rates 
to  meet  our  wants,  fixing  the  price  of  sugar, 
corn,  wheat,  tobacco,  cotton  and  everything 
that  the  producer  has  to  sell  and  everything 
that  the  consumer  wants,  as  we  are  now  do- 
ing. The  law  of  supply  and  demand  and  com- 
petition will  do  for  the  politician  to  advocate 
when  he  is  running  for  office,  but  after  he  gets 
into  office  we  will  take  charge  of  him  as  we 
have  been  doing  and  everything  will  go  on  in 
its  usual  way. 

155 


THE  STRUGGLE 


^^Of  course,  as  to  the  matter  of  litigation 
and  defending  of  suits  and  controlling  the 
legal  situation  in  the  various  states,  we  pur- 
sue the  same  practice  of  which  Judge  Horton 
has  spoken.  That  is  all  I  have  to  say,  Mr. 
Chairman.  I  will  be  pleased  to  have  the 
views  of  any  of  the  other  gentlemen.'' 

Mr.  Slogan  then  arose  and  said:  ^'The 
Chair  would  like  to  hear  from  some  of  the  rest 
of  you  gentlemen,— that  is  what  you  are  here 
for— is  to  give  us  your  views  and  tell  us  how 
vou  run  our  interest  in  vour  sections  and  to 
devise  ways  to  break  up  this  agitation." 

Then  Mr.  Morris  of  the  Chicago  Bar,  a  lead- 
ing lawyer  and  politician  of  his  city  and  ''ad- 
visory counsel"  in  his  state  for  The  Inter- 
national Sugar  Trust,  The  International  Oil 
Co.  and  The  American  &  Pacific  Eailway  Co., 
arose.  Mr.  Morris  was  stoutly  and  heavily 
built  and  a  man  of  strong  character,  with  an 
intelligent  face,— and  all  over  that  face  was 
written  design  and  purpose  and  ability  to 
scheme  and  plan;  his  very  nature  possessed 
the  chief  characteristics  of  adapting  himself 
to  every  occasion,  and  to  the  wills  and  wishes 
of  men.    That  he  could  control  men  no  one 

156 


TEE  NEXT  MEETING 


would  doubt,  and  for  that  reason  the  great  cor- 
porations of  the  Middle  West  had  always  se- 
lected him  to  control  their  political  interests 
in  that  section.  With  a  calm  and  deliberate 
voice,  he  said :  *  ^  Mr.  Chairman,  I  fully  agree 
with  everything  that  has  been  said  here;— 
we  all  understand  what  our  purposes  are,  and 
what  these  gentlemen  have  stated  is  simply 
what  we  are  doing  in  every  section  of  the 
country;— I  don't  suppose  there  is  a  gentle- 
man present  who  has  been  disloyal  to  his 
client;— I  cannot  believe  that  the  execu- 
tive committees  of  these  various  institutions 
who  select  the  gentlemen  to  control  the  polit- 
ical interests  in  the  various  sections  of  the 
country,  would  make  a  mistake;— it  is  to  be 
presumed  that  they  have  selected  good  and 
faithful  men,  men  of  sufficient  intelligence  to 
control  the  situation  in  their  respective  sec- 
tions. The  gentleman  from  Boston,  who  has 
just  spoken,  knows  the  sentiment  of  New  Eng- 
land better  than  I  do;  the  gentleman  from 
Georgia  knows  the  sentiment  of  the  South 
better  than  I  do;  and  it  is  to  be  presumed 
that  I  know  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  the 
W^est  better  than  they  do ;  and  what  is  true  in 

157 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


my  case  is  true  as  to  all  of  the  gentlemen 
present;  they  know  the  sentiments  and  the 
prejudices,  the  environment  and  the  condition 
of  the  people  in  their  respective  sections,  I 
doubt  not,  and  the  best  way,  in  my  opinion, 
is  to  select  strong,  discreet  men— men  who 
know  their  business— and  leave  the  interests 
of  these  institutions  in  the  respective  sections 
in  their  hands.  Of  course  we  understand  that 
there  is  a  cooperative  system  among  us.  If 
the  Northeastern  &  New  England  Ey.  Co. 
should  have  interest  in  Illinois  which  was  be- 
ing jeopardized  by  legislation  or  otherwise, 
the  clients  that  I  represent  in  that  state  would 
rally  their  political  influence  to  the  rescue  of 
that  New  England  institution,  and  if  the  in- 
terest of  any  of  the  clients  that  I  represent 
was  at  jeopardy  in  Georgia  by  legislation  of 
that  state,  of  course  Judge  Horton  would  have 
his  client's  machinery  to  come  to  our  rescue, 
and  so  on,  Mr.  Chairman.  You  see  by  this 
systematic  cooperation  and  perfect  organiza- 
tion that  we  have,  it  is  absolutely  impossible 
for  the  ignorant  masses  to  oust  us  from  our 
position  and  the  control  of  the  government. 
These  demagogues  may  agitate  and  these  yel- 

158 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


low  journals  may  continue  their  sensational 
editorials,  but  we  will  go  on  controlling  the 
political  situation  and  tlie  government.  Con- 
gress cannot  pass  any  measure  that  we  oppose. 
Suppose  a  young  congressman  should  be  too 
persistent  in  anti-trust  legislation  or  in  other 
legislation  that  interfered  with  our  interests, 
could  we  not  turn  our  batteries  on  him  in  his 
district  and  defeat  him  in  the  next  election? 
Of  course  we  could,  be  he  Democrat  or  Ee- 
publican.  What  is  true  as  to  the  electing  of 
congressmen  is  true  as  to  the  electing  of  legis- 
lators in  the  various  states,  and  all  the  poli- 
ticians, and  while  they  may  go  out  and  talk  to 
the  people  about  the  rights  of  the  people  and 
about  controlling  the  railroads  and  the  cor- 
porations and  the  trusts,  and  while  they  may 
agitate,  yet  they  know  it  will  not  do  to  oppose 
us  in  earnest  and  in  fact.  They  know  that  we 
can  kill  any  man  politically  in  this  country  that 
we  wish  to,  and  we  will  do  it  if  it  becomes 
necessary  to  protect  our  interests ;  they  know 
that  there  is  an  absolute  understanding  be- 
tween all  the  corporate  and  business  interests 
of  this  country  and  that  we  are  going  to  stand 
together.   Only  one  other  thing,  Mr.  Chair- 

159 


THE  STRUGGLE 


man,  that  I  wish  to  suggest,  and  that  is  this, 
that  we  continue  our  efforts  to  place  more 
power  in  the  Federal  Government.  As  a  law- 
yer, I  am  fully  aware  of  the  fact,  that  the  more 
the  government  is  centralized,  the  better  it  is 
for  us,  that  with  a  strong  centralized  govern- 
ment, we  can  crush  out  the  agitation  in  all  of 
the  states,  we  can  declare  the  laws  of  the  states 
unconstitutional  that  are  detrimental  to  us; 
we  can  use  the  power  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment to  crush  out  labor  organizations  and  to 
suppress  agitation ;  we  can  use  the  strong  arm 
of  the  army  of  the  National  Government  to 
protect  what  is  in  law  our  property  rights, 
after  we  have  once  secured  these  rights  re- 
gardless of  whether  we  have  equity  or  morals 
on  our  side.  You  see,  sometimes  when  these 
clashes  come,  we  can't  discuss  what  is  right 
or  what  is  equity— but  might  makes  right. 
And  with  all  of  these  labor  organizations  and 
with  all  of  this  agitation,  we  want  to  continue 
to  centralize  as  much  power  in  the  National 
Government  as  possible,  for  therein  lies  our 
safety.  Give  us  a  strong  National  Govern- 
ment, with  a  judiciary  that  believes  in  a 
strong  National  Government,  with  a  strong 

160 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


standing  army,  and  I  have  no  apprehen- 
sion or  fear  about  onr  rights— we  will  go  on 
doing  business  as  we  have  done,  and  the  dis- 
organized masses  may  grumble  and  complain 
and  the  agitator  may  agitate  and  the  yellow 
journal  editor  may  write  his  sensational  edi- 
torials, but  they  will  all  be  of  no  effect. ' ' 

Judge  Horton  of  Georgia,  rising,  politely 
and  with  a  kindly  smile  upon  his  face,  broke 
into  Mr.  Morris'  dissertation  at  this  point. 
'* Pardon  me,  Mr.  Morris,"  said  Judge  Hor- 
ton, **I  just  wish  to  say  that  you  are  eminently 
correct  in  your  position;  I  haven't  any  doubt 
that  our  protection  and  our  safety  lie  in 
a  strong  centralized  government,— let  me  give 
you  an  actual  illustration— down  in  Georgia 
we  have  had  a  freight  rate  fight  on  for  some 
time.  The  Eailroad  Commission  of  that  state 
undertook  to  tell  us  what  we  should  charge 
for  transportation  and  how  we  should  fix  our 
tariff  rates.  The  agitator  and  demagogue 
down  there  kept  stirring  the  question  until 
they  worked  up  public  sentiment,  so  the  Eail- 
road Commission  finally  issued  their  orders 
and  circulars  reforming  our  rates  to  suit  their 
opinions,  and  of  course  we  didn't  intend  to  be 

161 


THE  STRUGGLE 


dictated  to  by  any  railroad  commission,  so 
we  at  once  went  into  the  Federal  Courts  and 
enjoined  the  Eailroad  Commissioners  and  the 
state  authorities  from  enforcing  the  orders  of 
the  commission.  There  were  a  great  many 
lawyers  down  there  after  notoriety  and  prom- 
inence, who,  thinking  it  was  a  popular  thing, 
volunteered  to  serve  the  dear  people  without 
money  and  without  charge;  their  patriotism 
rose  to  the  high  water  mark  all  at  once ;  but  we 
marshaled  all  our  talent— we  had  our  *^  Gen- 
eral Counsels''  and  ^'Division  Counsels"  of 
the  various  railroads  of  that  section.  Col. 
John  Faxter  of  Nashville,  Chief  Counsel  for 
the  Louisville,  Memphis  &  Nashville  system, 
led  the  fight.  Of  course  absolute  harmony 
prevailed  as  to  our  interests,  for  what  affected 
the  roads  that  I  represent,  affected  the  roads 
that  the  others  represented,  and  what  affected 
Col.  Faxter 's  road  affected  my  road.  We  con- 
sulted;—we  took  advantage  of  every  legal 
technicality.  We  planted  ourselves  broadly 
upon  the  proposition  that  the  orders  of  the 
State  Eailroad  Commission  of  Georgia  were 
in  violation  and  in  conflict  with  the  inter-state 
rates  and  interfered  with  the  Inter-State  Com- 

162 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


merce  Act,  and  therefore  null  and  void;  we 
hung  them  up  in  the  Federal  Courts,  and  we 
gave  out  an  interview  that,  even  if  the  lower 
courts  didn't  sustain  our  position,  we  would 
take  it  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  and  then  to 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  it  would  take  two 
years  to  go  through  this  system  of  litigation 
and  through  the  technicalities  of  the  law;— 
all  this  time  you  see  we  would  have  had  the 
state  authorities  in  Georgia  absolutely  para- 
lyzed, and  the  orders  of  the  State  Railroad 
Commission  would  have  been  of  no  effect,  and 
at  the  final  hearing,  if  our  position  should 
have  been  sustained,  the  constituted  author- 
ities of  the  state  of  Georgia  would  have  been 
at  our  mercy.  You  see  this  intimidated  them ; 
they  were  afraid  of  the  final  results— they 
were  afraid  that  when  the  fight  was  over,  we 
would  have  the  constituted  authorities  of  the 
state  of  Georgia  at  our  mercy,  and  that  the 
lawful  acts  of  that  state  would  no  longer  in- 
terfere with  any  rates  that  we  might  fix  or 
charge— in  fact  Col.  Faxter  gave  out  an  inter- 
view that  the  state  of  Georgia  and  the  consti- 
tuted authorities  might  as  well  take  notice 
that  his  road  and  all  other  transportation  com- 

163 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


panies  proposed  to  plant  themselves  under 
the  palladium  of  the  Federal  Government  and 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  bid 
defiance  to  the  state  authorities— in  fact  in  the 
interview  he  told  them  that  we  were  not  con- 
cerned as  to  what  the  state  authorities  of 
Georgia  did,  or  as  to  what  the  Eailroad  Com- 
mission* of  that  state  did— that  there  was  a 
higher  authority  under  which  we  would  take 
refuge ;  and  you  know,  sir,  that  we  absolutely 
ran  them  out  of  Court— they  even  dismissed 
their  own  case,  revoked  the  orders  of  the 
State  Eailroad  Commission  without  our  prom- 
ising them  anything,  signing  any  agreement 
or  doing  anything,  except  that  Col.  Faxter 
said  in  an  unsigned  interview,  that  the  author- 
ities who  owned  and  controlled  the  entire  rail- 
road system  south  of  the  Ohio  Elver  extend- 
ing to  the  Atlantic  coast,  were  in  consultation 
in  New  York  City  and  that  he  would  submit 
the  matter  to  them,  and  if  it  met  their  pleas- 
ure, probably  some  changes  would  be  made, 
but  wished  them  to  distinctly  understand  that 
he  would  not  promise  them  anything— that  the 
entire  matter  would  have  to  be  left  with  the 
authorities  that  controlled  the  railroad  sys- 

164 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


terns  of  that  section ;— in  other  words,  we  gave 
them  to  understand  that  if  they  petitioned  ns 
and  carae  with  a  spirit  of  begging  rather  than 
teling  us  what  to  do,  we  would  consider 
the  matter;  otherwise  we  would  not.  Now, 
you  see  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Act  and  inter-state  rates  and  the 
National  Railroad  Commission  and  a  strong 
centralized  government,  we  would  have  been 
compelled  to  submit  to  the  constituted 
authorities  in  the  state  of  Georgia  and  every 
other  state  in  that  section;  but  as  it  is,  we 
have  them  absolutely  at  our  mercy,  and  they 
may  create  all  the  railroad  commissions  they 
want,  pass  all  the  acts  they  want  and  agitate 
all  they  want  to  and  howl  all  they  want  to  in 
these  states  south  of  the  Ohio  River  and  ex- 
tending to  the  Atlantic  coast,  yet  the  railroad 
systems  in  that  section  will  go  on  doing  busi- 
ness—fixing and  charging  such  rates  as  they 
wish ;  and  I  presume  what  is  true  in  the  South 
Atlantic  section,  is  true  in  all  the  sections  of 
the  country."  *^That  is  correct,"  went  up 
from  a  hundred  voices.  **That  is  exactly  the 
way  we  do  it  in  our  territory, ' '  went  up  from 
all.    ** Precisely,"  said  Mr.  Morris;  then  con- 

165 


THE  STRUGGLE 


tinning,  he  said,  ^ '  One  otlier  point,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, and  I  am  through.  When  the  various 
state  committees  begin  to  meet,  let  our  repre- 
sentatives be  on  hand  and  see  that  no  un- 
favorable platforms  are  adopted,  and  that  no 
candidates,  whatever  their  pretensions  may 
be,  who  are  really  antagonistic  to  us,  are  nom- 
inated. We  are  looking  after  the  matter  in 
all  of  the  political  parties  out  in  Illinois  and 
the  west,  and  the  gentlemen  present  will  do 
likewise  on  the  Pacific  coast  and  in  the  south 
and  in  New  England.  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  I 
see  no  need  of  prolonging  this  meeting— we 
understand  each  other— let  us  adjourn  this 
meeting  and  go  to  our  homes  and  take  matters 
in  charge  and  run  them— that  is  better  than 
all  of  this  discussion— we  understand  each 
other— we  understand  our  plans  and  our  co- 
operation and  our  methods  and  the  only 
thing  to  do  is  to  act,  act." 

When  Mr.  Morris  had  concluded  his  re- 
marks, it  was  apparent  to  all  that  his  bulldog 
tenacity,  his  firm  and  sledge-hammer  way  of 
saying  things,  had  had  their  effect  upon  the 
lieutenants  present,  and  even  Pont  Slogan 
was   impressed— so   much   that   Mr.    Slogan 

166 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


arose  and  said,  ^  ^  Gentlemen,  Mr.  Morris  has 
hit  the  key  note— there  is  no  use  in  contin- 
uing this  discussion— I  think  we  have  made 
our  plans  plain  to  you— you  know  what  we 
want,  and  the  thing  to  do,  as  Mr.  Morris  says, 
is  to  act— to  act.     I  am  more  interested  in 
these   enterprises   than   any  man  here— my 
banking  house  carries  their  bonds  and  their 
stock  and  finances  their  deals,  and  I  have  got 
a  right  to  be  heard  and  my  wishes  have  a  right 
to  be  respected,  and  I  know  if  the  laws  of  com- 
petition and  supply  and  demand  that  these 
agitators  are  trying  to  stir  up  the  people  on, 
should  be  put  into  action,  it  would  break  every 
one  of  these  institutions  and  me  too.    These 
institutions  can't  do  business  and  let  the  laws 
of  supply  and  demand  rule  in  this  country. 
Now  what  I  want  you  to  do  is  to  go  to  your 
homes  in  your  respective  sections  and  to  act 
—to  act,—  do  you  hear  me— do  you  under- 
stand me  I    I  want  you  to  see  that  no  man  is 
elected  to  office  who  will  legislate  against  our 
interests— I  want  you  to  see  that  no  platform 
is   written   by   any   political   party   that   is 
against  our  interests.    I  want  you  to  use  the 
free  pass  system  and  every  other  means  to 

167 


THE  STRUGGLE 


control  the  political  situation  and  the  legis- 
lation of  the  country.  If  yon  need  funds  yon 
let  your  respective  clients  know  it— money  is 
no  object  with  us  when  we  are  getting  value 
received.  We  are  going  to  continue  our  busi- 
ness, we  are  going  to  execute  our  plans,  we  are 
going  to  control  the  prices  in  this  country,  we 
are  going  to  say  what  we  shall  pay  for  what 
we  purchase  from  the  producer  and  what  we 
are  going  to  get  for  the  products  when  we  sell 
them  to  the  consumer,  we  are  not  going  to  be 
dictated  to  by  laws  passed  by  scheming  poli- 
ticians nor  sentiment  created  by  agitators, 
nor  by  demands  made  by  organized  mobs  and 
anarchists.  The  business  interests  of  this 
country  are  going  to  control  it,  and  the  quicker 
these  damn  mobs  and  anarchists,  yellow  jour- 
nal papers  and  the  ignorant  masses  find  it  out 
the  better  it  will  be  for  them.  I  am  going  to 
adjourn  this  meeting  now— go  to  your  homes 
and  take  charge  of  the  situation,  and  the  busi- 
ness interests  of  the  country  will  continue." 
*^One  point  further  before  we  adjourn," 
said  Mr.  Henry  Smith  of  St.  Louis,  and  '*  Ad- 
visory Counsel"  in  that  section  for  the  Great 
American  and  Pacific  Railway  Co.  **I  wish  to 

168 


THE  NEXT  MEETING 


make  this  suggestion,  gentlemen :  Out  with  ns 
when  some  young  fellow  arises  and  wants  to 
clarify  the  air  politically  and  wants  to  reform 
the  politics  of  the  state  and  in  our  section, 
the  way  we  destroy  his  influence  is  this— we 
send  out  our  lieutenants  and  have  them 
hegin  to  discuss  him  as  a  *  demagogue'  and 
*  agitator;'  and  you  see  our  company  and 
similar  institutions  always  own  a  good  deal  of 
stock  in  the  various  newspapers,  and  those  we 
don't  own  any  stock  in  we  generally  place 
under  obligations  to  us  by  giving  them  free 
passes  and  a  good  deal  of  advertising ;  and  by 
these  and  other  means  we  control  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  press  of  the  country;  and  we 
have  these  papers  that  we  control  term 
these  fellows  *  reformers'  and  'agitators' 
and  'demagogues'  and  place  a  kind  of  an 
odium  on  them  and  poison  public  sentiment 
against  them  and  ridicule  them,  and  by  this 
means,  organization  can  soon  destroy  the  in- 
dividual and  have  the  people  he  is  trying  to 
serve  look  upon  him  with  contempt.  Of 
course  he  soon  sees  that  he  is  fighting  a  losing 
fight  and  becomes  disgusted  and  gives  up, 
and  if  he  doesn  't  give  up,  of  course  we  simply 

169 


THE  STRUGGLE 


destroy  him  if  we  see  he  is  a  man  of  force 
and  likely  to  stir  up  public  sentiment;  and 
other  ambitious  men,  seeing  what  we  have 
done  to  these  reformers,  are  afraid  to  under- 
take reforms,  and  by  this  means  we  keep  down 
agitation  and  destroy  the  influence  of  those 
who  undertake  to  create  reforms.  I  tell  you, 
the  free  pass  system  is  something  powerful— 
yon  can  control  the  little  politician  with  it 
—and  the  average  country  newspaper  editor, 
and  of  course  we  take  stock  in  the  large  daily 
papers  in  order  to  control  them— in  fact,  we 
have  got  it,  out  in  our  section,  in  the  middle 
west,  so  that  we  make  it  warm  for  any  fellow 
that  goes  to  agitating  and  we  simply  destroy 
him— it  is  either  quit  or  go  out  of  business, 
and  very  few  men  are  willing  to  pay  the  price 
of  being  a  reformer  under  these  conditions." 
**  Precisely— that  is  the  way  we  do  it  in  our 
section,"  went  up  from  a  hundred  voices. 
Even  Pont  Slogan  himself  grunted  out, 
''That's  the  way  to  do  it."  And  Henry  Smith 
resumed  his  seat. 

After  the  meeting  was  over  and  the  Ad- 
visory Counsels  and  Special  Agents  and  Gen- 
eral Agents  had  filed  out  of  the  building  to 

170 


TEE  NEXT  MEETING 


go  to  their  respective  hotels,  Pont  Slogan 
and  his  associates  held  a  short  executive  ses- 
sion. Mr.  Slogan,  of  course,  presided  as  usual. 
With  his  usual  abrupt  manner,  he  said,  *  *  Gen- 
tlemen, I  have  kept  you  here  just  for  a  few 
minutes  only.  I  have  studied  the  character 
of  these  men  who  are  looking  after  our  inter- 
ests in  all  sections  of  the  country,  that  we  have 
had  assembled  here.  I  tell  you  they  are  strong 
and  shrewd  men— thev  have  been  well  selected 
—they  know  their  business-— they  know  how 
to  handle  men— they  know  how  to  poison  pub- 
lic sentiment  against  reformers— they  know 
how  to  break  the  fellow  financially  if  he  is  in 
business  and  attempts  to  oppose  us— they 
know  how  to  destroy  the  ambitions  of  rising 
politicians  who  may  oppose  us;  and  we  need 
not  have  any  fears.  I  think  the  thing  for  us 
to  do  is  to  go  right  on  in  business,  fixing  rates 
of  transportation  and  fixing  our  prices,  say- 
ing what  we  will  pay  for  the  product  of  the 
producer  and  naming  the  price  that  the  con- 
sumer shall  pay.  I  don't  think  we  need  to  fear 
any  agitation  or  any  reforms,  and  I  don't 
think  we  will  ever  be  bothered  with  the  laws 
of  supply  and  demand  and  competition,  and 

171 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


unless  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand 
and  competition  prevail,  tlie  independ- 
ent dealer  cannot  exist,  and  we  cannot 
have  any  competition,  and  therefore  can 
control  prices  both  for  the  producer  and 
the  consumer,  and  with  our  systematic  organ- 
ization, with  absolute  harmony  existing  be- 
tween the  great  transportation  companies  of 
the  country  and  the  manufacturing  combina- 
tions of  the  country,  the  wheat  and  com  com- 
binations of  the  country,  the  cotton  combina- 
tion, the  tobacco  combination— in  fact,  a  com- 
bination that  controls  the  price  of  everything 
that  is  produced  and  everything  that  is  con- 
sumed and  fixes  the  charges  of  transporting 
it  from  producer  to  the  consumer— we  need 
have  no  fears— the  individual  citizen  or  the  in- 
dividual dealer  cannot  do  anything,— he  is 
at  our  mercy,  and  with  OTir  combined  capital 
and  our  systematic  organization,  we  can  con- 
trol the  law-making  powers  of  the  government 
—in  fact  the  government  itself.  And  so,  I  am 
satisfied,  gentlemen,  the  thing  for  us  to  do  is 
to  go  right  along  in  our  business  as  we  have 
been  doing ;  keep  our  plans  perfect,  organiza- 
tion systematic,  let  harmony  prevail,  and  we 

172 


TEE  NEXT  MEETING 


will  be  safe."  ^^Tliat  is  right,"  went  up  from 
a  dozen  voices.  **Witli  that  understanding, 
then,  gentlemen,  I  am  going  to  adjourn  this 
meeting,  and  let  us  go  to  our  respective  places 
of  business  and  act  in  a  spirit  that  will  be  in 
keeping  with  this  meeting. 

Then  the  *^ Captains  of  Finance"  arose, 
shaking  hands  with  each  other.  **This  has 
been  a  good  meeting"  they  said  to  each  other 
— '*I  tell  you  the  business  interests  of  this 
country  are  safe,  and  when  we  get  together 
we  can  do  what  we  please, ' '  and  down  the  ele- 
vators they  filed,  each  smiling  and  thinking 
of  the  dollars,  the  dollars,  the  dollars  the 
future  days  would  bring  into  their  coffers. 


173 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  OTHER  SIDE 


WHILE  the  *^ Captains  of  Finance'' 
and  their  lieutenants  were  in  session 
in  Wall  Street,  there  was  another 
meeting  in  session  way  down  on  the  *^ Bow- 
ery,'' in  the  Socialist  Hall.  The  summons  to 
attend  this  meeting  was  not  a  quiet  notice  as 
was  the  case  in  Wall  Street.  But  all  day  the 
flag  had  waved  from  the  window  of  the  hall, 
floating  out  over  the  street— *^  Socialist  Meet- 
ing Here  Tonight.  Let  All  Patriots  Come. 
The  People  Must  Demand  Their  Rights"— 
printed  upon  the  banner.  The  meeting  on 
Wall  Street  was  without  display  or  noise— it 
was  the  quiet  calm  movement  of  the  organized 
few  that  always  creates  class  legislation  and 
special  privileges  and  thereby  robs  the  masses 
of  what  they  produce— it  was  the  movement  of 
the  organized  few  who  have  created  a  com- 
mercial nobility  in  this  the  twentieth  century, 

174 


TEE  OTHER  SIDE 


just  as  the  organized  few  created  the  legal 
caste  and  the  nobility  and  the  royalty  and 
landed  aristocracy  in  the  centuries  past.  The 
men  who  met  in  Wall  Street  went  about  it  in 
the  same  old  way  that  the  organized  few  and 
the  privileged  classes  have  always  done 
through  the  centuries,  when  they  wish  to  con- 
vert the  functions  of  government  to  private 
ends  and  thereby  rob  and  plunder  the  masses 
—quietly,  systematically  and  designingly. 
And  the  men  who  met  in  the  Socialist  Hall 
on  the  *^ Bowery"  went  about  it  in  the  same 
old  way  that  the  masses  have  done  through  the 
centuries,  when  the  galling  yoke  of  oppres- 
sion has  become  more  than  they  could  bear- 
without  organization  or  mutual  understand- 
ing, without  design  or  plans,  but  with  noise 
and  glamour,  giving  notice  to  the  rest  of  the 
world  of  what  their  purposes  were  and  what 
they  intended  to  do. 

As  the  hour  for  the  meeting  approached, 
the  men  of  toil  began  to  come  from  every  sec- 
tion of  the  east  side,  some  could  speak  the 
English  language,  some  the  Italian,  some  the 
French,  some  the  German,  some  the  Polish— 
every  language  under  the  sun  seemed  to  be 

175 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


represented  there.  It  was  a  mixing  and  *  *  con- 
fusion of  tongues"  as  at  the  Tower  of  Babel; 
every  fellow  was  doing  his  best  to  make  the 
other  fellow  understand  him,  they  felt  that 
something  was  wrong  with  the  world  and  that 
that  wrong  should  be  righted— just  what  was 
wrong  they  could  not  tell,— just  where  the 
mistake  was  they  did  not  know,— they  had  not 
fixed  their  plans  as  to  how  the  existing  wrongs 
should  be  corrected— just  how  and  when 
things  should  be  corrected  they  did  not  know, 
—there  was  only  one  thing  in  the  world  that 
they  were  a  unit  on,  and  that  was  that  the 
world  was  all  going  wrong;  that  the  whole 
world  was  working  out  of  harmony  with  the 
common  laws  of  justice  and  of  right  was 
agreed  upon  by  all ;  they  had  no  doubt  as  to 
the  fact  that  the  rich  were  robbing  the  poor; 
that  the  toiling  millions  who  create  the  wealth 
did  not  receive  their  equitable  proportion 
thereof  was  an  established  fact  in  their  minds. 
They  were  satisfied  that  the  powers  of  the 
government  were  converted  from  proper  gov- 
ernmental functions  to  private  ends  to  collect 
unearned  wealth  for  the  few— they  were  sat- 
isfied beyond  doubt  or  question  that  organized 

176 


TEE  OTHER  SIDE 


and  combined  wealth  controlled  legislation 
and  the  functions  of  the  government  to 
plunder  the  toiling  masses  who  produce  the 
wealth  of  the  land;— they  were  satisfied  be- 
yond doubt  that  the  poor  and  the  wealth  pro- 
ducer did  not  get  a  fair  deal  anywhere  in  life 's 
battle ;  that  even  organized  wealth  and  the  al- 
mighty dollar  invaded  and  influenced  the  leg- 
islative halls,  the  Temples  of  Justice,  and  even 
the  Temples  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  the 
living  God.  They  were  satisfied  and  a  unit 
on  the  fact  that  abstract  justice  had  never 
ruled  absolutely  and  perfectly  among  men; 
that  absolute  justice  in  organized  society,  as 
it  had  existed  through  the  centuries,  had  only 
existed  in  theory ;  they  were  absolutely  satis- 
fied of  the  fact  that  these  wrongs  existed,  and 
that  in  the  commercial  civilization  of  the  day 
organized  and  combined  wealth  was  all  pow- 
erful with  the  government,  and  the  sover- 
eign states  and  organized  society  lay  pros- 
trate and  helpless  before  the  dragon  of  its 
power.  They  were  a  unit  on  all  of  these 
facts,  but  they  had  no  organzed  plan  to  cor- 
rect these  wrongs,— they  had  no  system  by 
which  to  work  out  a  better  condition— they 

177 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


had  no  cohesive  organization— they  had  no 
unit  of  action— they  stood  as  the  masses  have 
stood  in  the  centuries  past  when  plutocracy, 
royalty,  nohility,  legal  caste,  privileged  class- 
ism  and  the  priesthood  have  plundered  the 
masses,— divided  among  themselves,  helpless 
to  correct  their  own  conditions  for  the  want 
of  organization  and  unity  of  action. 

The  large  hall  soon  became  packed  with 
these  earnest  men,  conscious  of  their  wrongs, 
yet  helpless  in  their  efforts  to  better  their  con- 
ditions—men who  had  families ;— men  who 
had  wives  and  children  whom  they  loved— 
whose  humble  firesides  and  poorly  clad  wives 
and  children  were  as  sacred  to  them  as  the 
brown  stone  fronts  were  to  the  *^  Captains  of 
Finance ' '  who  met  on  Wall  Street.  The  hall 
was  filled  with  these  men  whose  motives  have 
always  been  questioned— whose  purposes 
have  always  been  slandered— whose  actions 
have  always  been  denounced;— the  hall  was 
filled  with  these  men  who  have  always  been 
denounced  by  the  press  of  organized  capital 
and  greed,  as  anarchists,  law  breakers  and 
criminals.  It  was  filled  with  men  against 
whom  public  opinion  has  always  been  poi- 

178 


TBE  OTHER  SIDE 


soned  by  organized  capital  and  a  plutocratic 
press ;  yet  as  you  looked  upon  these  faces  as- 
sembled in  their  common  meeting  place,  you 
could  not  but  be  convinced  that  there  was  a 
beating,  pulsating  meaning  back  of  their  ac- 
tions ;  they  carried  the  faces  of  men  who  were 
conscious  that  the  world  was  dealing  unfairly 
with  them,  that  fate  had  not  given  them  a  fair 
deal  in  Life's  race,  that  the  odds  had  been 
against  them  on  every  issue  and  at  every 
point. 

As  Mr.  Jacob  Elstein,  the  chairman  of  the 
meeting,  ascended  the  platform  to  call  the 
meeting  to  order,  you  could  see  earnestness 
in  his  face ;  and  as  Lepo  Tolelli,  the  secretary, 
called  the  roll,  the  voices  of  the  men  who  an- 
swered to  their  names  had  the  ring  of  men 
who  were  conscious  that  the  existing  condi- 
tions were  the  conditions  placed  upon  them 
by  humanity  and  not  by  the  Creator.  After 
the  roll  was  called  and  the  usual  business  was 
transacted,  the  meeting  was  thrown  open  for 
public  discussion. 

^'De  chair  is  now  waiting  to  hear  from  any 
of  de  brethren  present.  Our  purpose  is  to  get 
relief,"  said  the  Chair;  *^we  know  that  we  are 

179 


THE  STRUGGLE 


wronged— we  know  dat  de  poor  man  has  got 
no  show  in  his  country  under  existing  condi- 
tions—we know  dat  de  toiling  masses  who 
create  de  wealth  are  getting  poorer,  and  de 
organized  classes  who  do  not  produce  any- 
thing are  getting  richer;— we  know,  brethren, 
dat  dere  is  something  wrong  and  dat  things 
must  be  changed  if  we  ever  hope  to  get  any 
relief.  De  chair  is  now  ready  to  hear  from 
any  of  de  brethren  present." 

At  this  point  Alex  Bloomfield  arose,  heavy 
built,  chuffy  and  chunky.  He  had  a  face  of  de- 
termination—a face  that  had  gone  through 
hardships,— hands  that  had  gone  through 
labor  and  toil.  **Mr.  Chairman,  of  course  we 
Imow  we  are  wronged,— we  know  that  we 
create  the  wealth  of  this  country,— we  know 
that  the  workingman  has  created  the  wealth 
of  every  country,  and  we  know  that  the  few, 
the  classes,  have  robbed  the  masses  of  what 
they  have  produced.  We  know  that  in  this 
country  the  masses  are  becoming  indus- 
trial  slaves  for  the  organized  commercial 
aristocracy;  we  know  that  we  are  becoming 
in  all  essentials,  slaves— as  much  so  as  the 
serfs  in  the  Eoman  Empire;  we  know  that 

180 


TEE  OTEER  SIDE 


we  belong  to  the  commercial  aristocracy  of 
this  republic— just  as  much  so  as  did  the  serfs 
to  the  legal  caste  and  aristocracy  of  the 
Roman  Empire;  we  know  that  these  unjust 
conditions  and  these  wrongs  produced  the 
disease  and  decay  that  caused  the  downfall 
of  that  country;  and  we  know  that  if  these 
wrongs  continue  to  exist  and  develop  in  this 
country  they  will  finally  disease  our  body 
politic  and  set  up  a  decay  that  will  de- 
stroy this  republic.  We  know  that  the  indus- 
trial masses  of  this  republic  are  laboring 
under  the  same  injustice  and  the  same  wrongs 
that  the  serfs  of  the  middle  ages  did  under 
the  feudal  svstem. 

**Our  only  hope,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  to  edu- 
cate the  masses— is  to  read  good  literature.  I 
read  ^The  Appeal  to  Reason,'  I  read  *The 
Common  Interest,'  I  read  'The  Organized 
Commonwealth,'  I  read  'The  Socialist;'  and 
while  I  work,  I  have  read  history,  and  I  tell 
you  that  the  only  hope  of  our  people  is  to 
read,  and  when  they  become  educated  so  they 
can  comprehend  these  questions,  then  we  can 
place  all  of  the  public  functions  of  organized 
society  in  the  hands  of  the  government,  which 

181 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


represents  organized  society,  and  let  the  gov- 
ernment make  an  equal  distribution  among  its 
members  of  the  accumulations  of  the  public 
functions  of  organized  society,  and  let  the  in- 
dividual retain  his  individual  earnings,  then 
we  will  better  our  condition,  and  not  until 
then.  In  other  words,  Mr.  Chairman,  when 
we  get  the  masses  educated  to  the  extent  that 
we  can  revoke  the  functions  of  organized  so- 
ciety from  the  privileged  classes  and  turn 
them  over  to  the  government,  we  will  have 
made  the  first  great  effort  in  relieving  the 
downtrodden  and  the  oppresed  millions. 
Let  the  people  themselves  become  the  gov- 
ernment, and  let  the  people  control  the  gov- 
ernment and  not  the  government  the  people, 
then  we  will  have  real  socialism— a  common 
interest ;  then  we  will  have  equity  in  organized 
society;  multi-millionaires  and  commercial 
plutocracy  will  cease;  then  we  will  cease  to 
have  tramps,  soup  houses  and  the  pauperized 
masses;  then  we  will  have  a  state  of  society 
wherein  everybody  can  have  the  necessaries 
and  comforts  of  life— sufficient  food  and  suffi- 
cient raiment,  without  having  either  the 
pauper  or  the  millionaire,  and  this  state  of 

182 


TEE  OTEER  SIDE 


organized  society  is  based  upon  this  truth, 
that  no  man  in  this  lifetime  can  produce  a 
million  dollars  by  his  own  efforts,  and  there- 
fore, if  he  is  honest,  and  relies  on  honest 
methods,  can  never  come  into  possession  of  a 
million  dollars ;  and  on  the  further  truth,  that 
any  man  who  makes  an  honest  effort,  regard- 
less of  what  his  vocation  is  in  life,  he  can 
create  enough  to  feed  and  clothe  himself,  if 
he  receives  what  he  honestly  creates;  and 
under  these  conditions,  wherever  Socialism 
reigns,  there  can  be  no  paupers,  there  can  be 
no  millionaires,  for  a  common  interest  and 
common  control  will  regulate  the  conditions 
of  society  to  prevent  the  existence  of  million- 
aires," and  then  raising  his  hand  to  Heaven, 
with  face  burning  with  earnestness,  he  ex- 
claimed, *'Mr.  Chairman  and  brethren,  I  am 
a  Socialist  of  the  true  type— socialism  that 
means  protection  to  all  of  God's  children— 
that  means  food  for  the  hungry  and  starving 
and  raiment  for  the  shivering  and  the  freezing. 
In  God's  name  let  us  educate— let  us  educate; 
let  us  carry  these  truths  home  to  our  firesides 
—to  our  families  and  our  children— they  are 
the  only  hope  to  establish  Christ's  rule  among 

183 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


men;  the  only  hope  to  dethrone  organized 
greed  and  a  moneyed  plutocracy,  and  to  es- 
tablish humane  conditions  for  humanity.'* 
(Great  applause.)  And  with  the  perspiration 
running  down  his  face  and  his  whole  nervous 
system  jerking  with  excitement  he  resumed 
his  seat. 

Next  in  order  was  Elie  Tollie.  *  *  Mr.  Chair- 
man, I  have  listened  to  de  gentleman  with  in- 
terest ;  his  socialism,  in  theory,  may  be  beau- 
tiful, but  in  practice  it  will  not  accomplish 
what  we  want  to  do.  I  tell  you,  dere  is  only 
one  way  to  dethrone  de  plutocrats  dat  are 
oppressing  de  masses,  and  dat  is  arms.  We 
will  have  to  do  as  de  oppressed  millions  of 
de  ages  past  have  always  had  to  do— resort 
to  de  sword  and  bloodshed.  If  history  teaches 
us  anything,  it  teaches  us  dis,  dat  when 
de  organized  few  become  intrenched  behind 
class  rule,  whether  it  be  a  caste  recognized  by 
law  or  whether  it  be  a  royalty  and  a  nobility 
or  an  organized  financial  plutocracy,  when 
dis  class  rule  is  once  established  upon  de 
masses  and  can  control  de  government  and 
organized  society,  dey  continue  to  oppress, 
and    oppress,    and    oppress,    without    con- 

184 


THE  OTHER  SIDE 


science  and  without  regard  for  human 
rights  or  de  suffering  and  de  sorrows  of 
de  oppressed,  until  de  burdens  become  more 
dan  de  oppressed  millions  can  bear,  and  dat 
revolution  and  bloodshed  is  de  only  thing  dat 
brings  relief  to  de  masses.  Dis  has  been  de 
case  in  de  ages  past ;  it  was  de  case  in  France ; 
it  has  been  de  case  in  de  countries  of 
northern  Europe ;  it  has  been  de  case  in  Eng- 
land; it  was  de  case  in  de  days  of  Greece 
and  Kome ;  and  it  has  been  de  case,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, since  de  days  of  organized  society 
among  men ;  and  history  simply  repeats  itself, 
and  to  argue  dat  history  will  not  repeat  itself 
on  dis  continent  and  in  dis  republic,  is  to 
argue  dat  you  do  not  know  de  history  of  de 
past,  dat  you  do  not  know  de  pathway  over 
which  de  human  family  have  passed.  I  tell 
you  dat  de  clash  is  coming,  dat  de  issue  is  be- 
ing made,  dat  de  people  of  dis  country  are 
rapidly  becoming  divided  into  two  distinct 
classes— de  organized  rich  and  de  unorgan- 
ized and  pauperized  masses.  Dese  condi- 
tions, if  let  alone,  will  work  deir  way  to  de 
final  extremes,  when  all  de  wealth  will  be  con- 
centrated into  de  hands  of  de  few,  with  an  or- 

185 


THE  STRUGGLE 


ganized,  jfinancial,  plutocratic  class,  living  in 
luxury  and  dissipation,  controlling  de  gov- 
ernment for  deir  own  ends,  and  de  unorgan- 
ized and  pauperized  masses,  toiling,  working, 
and  yet  becoming  poorer  and  poorer  until 
hunger  and  necessity  will  compel  dem,  in 
order  to  exist,  to  fight ;  den  you  will  have  de 
real  clash  between  de  classes  and  de  masses, 
a  revolution,  bloodshed  and  another  *  reign 
of  terror.'     Dis  very  night,  while  we   as- 
semble here  to  discuss  issues  and  problems 
dat  concern  our  humble  homes,  our  wives  and 
our  children,  I  venture  to  assert  dat  yonder 
in  Wall  Street  are  clans  of  de  rich  and  plu- 
tocratic financiers,  organizing,  banding  dem- 
selves  together,  devising  ways  and  means  to 
plunder  de  masses  and  to  take  from  dem 
what  dey  create  without  giving  anything  in 
return.    Dey  are  dere  in  cold  blood,  without 
passion  of  love  for  humanity,  without  regard 
for  right  or  justice,  designing  and  scheming 
to  rob  you  and  me,  to  rob  every  wealth  pro- 
ducer in  dis  land.    I  tell  you,  Mr.  Chairman, 
dey  are  as  great  enemies  to  society  as  de 
thief  and  de  robber  upon  de  public  highway ; 
—dey  are  criminals  and  I  am  in  favor  of 

186 


THE  OTHER  SIDE 


treating  dem  as  criminals.  Bloodshed  will 
be  de  end  unless  something  is  done.  Let  us 
commence  now;  let  us  protect  our  humble 
firesides,  our  wives  and  our  children;  let  us 
defy  dese  plunderers  of  organized  society, 
dese  criminals  judged  by  every  law  of  man 
and  law  of  God. ' '  And  as  he  took  his  seat  the 
applause  went  up  from  every  side  of  the  hall, 
hats  waved,  sticks  pounded  the  floor,  men 
yelled  with  the  whoop  of  earnestness.  That 
he  touched  the  chord  of  response  was  evident 
everywhere,  and  as  the  chairman  adjourned 
the  meeting  everybody  present  felt  that  they 
could  march  in  solid  phalanx  against  the  com- 
mon enemy  of  their  homes,  their  wives  and 
their  children. 

The  non-partisan  observer,  standing  in  the 
side  passage  that  led  into  the  great  hall, 
looking  into  the  faces  of  these  men,  was  con- 
scious of  the  fact  that  while  in  some  things 
they  were  in  error,  yet  the  truth  existed  some- 
where that  should  give  them  the  righteous 
and  just  relief  for  which  they  were  contend- 
ing. 


187 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  REAL  TRUTH 


ON  the  same  night  that  the  '  ^  Captains  of 
Finance"  and  their  lieutenants  were 
in  session  on  Wall  Street  and  the  So- 
cialists were  holding  forth  on  the  ** Bowery," 
there  was  another  meeting  held  on  West  23d 
Street;— it  was  the  meeting  of  **The  Inde- 
pendent Civic  League."  The  men  who  met 
there  were  not  grasping  after  dollars,  nor 
were  they  there  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
the  Government;— they  were  there  for  the 
purpose  of  construction  rather  than  destruc- 
tion; they  were  there  to  apply  the  best  pos- 
sible remedies  to  existing  wrongs;  to  study 
and  to  solve  if  possible  the  issue  that  demands 
the  consideration  of  the  American  people; 
they  were  men  trained  in  the  philosophy  of 
right  and  justice  when  applied  to  organized 
society  rather  than  the  art  of  grasping  for 
the  dollars  that  other  men  had  created ;  they 

188 


THE  REAL  TRUTH 


were  men  who  had  purposes  in  life  other 
than  plundering  organized  society  and  grasp- 
ing dollars  while  the  orphan  and  the  widow 
perished  as  a  result  of  their  actions. 

The  personnel  of  the  The  Independent  Civic 
League  differed  materially  from  the  men  who 
met  in  the  rear  of  Pont  Slogan  &  Co.  's  Bank- 
ing House  on  Wall  Street  and  from  the  men 
who  met  in  the  Socialist  Hall  on  the  ^^  Bow- 
ery. ' '  The  men  who  met  in  Wall  street  were 
dominated  and  ruled  by  the  animal  element  of 
their  nature,— no  sympathy  and  love  for  the 
hungry,  the  ]Derishing  and  the  dying,  the 
widow  and  the  orphan  entered  their  souls— if 
souls  they  had.  The  men  who  met  in  the 
Socialist  Hall  were  ruled  and  controlled  by 
passion,— they  were  not  bad  men  at  heart— 
they  loved  humanity,  they  wanted  the  wrongs, 
that  they  knew  existed,  corrected,  but  their 
passions  and  prejudices  controlled  them 
rather  than  their  cool  and  deliberate  judg- 
ment, and  their  cause  was  injured  because 
they  did  not  have  judgment  to  make  their 
efforts  effective.  The  men  who  met  in  The 
Independent  Civic  League  had  both  hearts 
and  minds ;  they  were  students  of  causes  and 

189 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


effects ;  loved  humanity  and  studied  its  rights, 
and  the  relations  of  man  to  man,  and  man's 
duty  to  his  fellow  man.  Of  course  the  major- 
ity of  them  were  baldheaded,  long,  lean  and 
lanky  and  hungry-looking  and  wore  glasses, 
and  those  who  had  any  hair  at  all  wore  it  long 
around  their  necks,  for  they  were  students, 
and  every  man  in  life  carries  the  character- 
istics and  environments  of  his  vocation. 

Dr.  John  Jenkins,  the  chairman,  called  the 
meeting  to  order  and  the  Eev.  Dr.  Thos.  Pitts, 
the  secretary,  called  the  roll  of  members,  and 
after  the  usual  details  had  received  attention 
and  all  preliminaries  had  been  attended  to, 
the  chairman  announced  that  instead  of  an 
oral  discussion,  the  organization  would  be 
favored  with  a  paper  on  ^^The  Relation  of 
Organized  Wealth  to  Organized  Society"  by 
Dr.  Henry  Davis,  Professor  of  Sociology  in 
The  University  of  New  York.  '*I  have  the 
pleasure,"  said  the  chairman,  of  introducing 
to  you  a  distinguished  scholar— a  man  whom 
you  all  know,  and  whose  learning  and  schol- 
arly attainments  on  the  subject  that  he  will 
discuss  are  known  to  all  thinking  men 
throughout  this  country  and  even  in  the  Old 

190 


TEE  REAL  TRUTH 


World— a  great  scholar  and  a  specialist  in 
his  line.  I  know  the  organization  will  be  de- 
lighted to  hear  him.  Dr.  Davis,  of  The  Uni- 
versity  of  New  York,  will  now  address  you.*' 
Dr.  Davis  arose,  a  tall,  lean,  hungry-look- 
ing man,  and  the  dazzling  electric  lights  glit- 
tered on  his  bald  head,  and  when  he  adjusted 
his  glasses  he  had  the  real  look  of  the  stu- 
dent—the look  of  the  man  who  lives  in  books 
and  thinks  out  principles ;  unfolding  his  man- 
uscript, he  began  his  discussion,  quietly  and 
deliberately.  *^I  have  selected  the  subject  of 
*The  Eelation  of  Organized  Wealth  to  Or- 
ganized Society'  for  my  discourse  before  you 
this  evening,"  said  he,  *^ because  it  is  the 
greatest  question  that  confronts  the  American 
people  for  solution ;  it  is  a  question  that  must 
be  solved  correctlv,  or  our  free  institutions 

•/     7 

must,  in  the  end,  be  destroyed.  In  my  opin- 
ion, the  greatest  living  menace  to  this  republic 
today  is  the  great  combination  of  organized 
wealth.  The  history  of  civilization  proves  be- 
yond doubt  that  in  order  for  free  institutions 
to  exist,  the  laws  of  supply,  demand  and 
competition  must  prevail  and  govern  in  fixing 
the  values  of  the  producer  and  the  consumer, 

191 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


and  every  individual  of  Organized  Society 
is  to  have  a  fair  deal  in  the  marts  of  com- 
merce. When  these  laws  prevail,  wealth  has 
an  equitable  distribution  among  the  members 
of  Organized  Society,  and  the  entire  body 
politic  remains  in  a  healthy  condition— a  con- 
dition that  produces  a  people  capable  of  self- 
government.  When  these  natural  laws  are 
changed  by  men,— when  the  laws  of  supply, 
demand  and  competition  are  destroyed  in 
order  to  create  fictitious  values  and  to  destroy 
real  values,  the  wealth  produced  by  all  of  the 
members  of  Organized  Society  is  unevenly 
and  unjustly  distributed,  and  you  thereby 
have  a  class  who  secure  special  privileges 
from  Organized  Society  at  the  expense  of 
the  rest  of  the  members  of  the  body  politic. 
Such  a  condition  creates  a  class  rule,  and  as 
class  rule  increases  in  power,  the  rights  and 
powers  of  the  masses  are  decreased— under 
these  conditions,  laws  and  government  simply 
become  agents  of  the  privileged  few  to  op- 
press the  many.  Through  all  of  the  centur- 
ies, in  governments  where  a  legal  caste  has 
been  recognized,  the  government  has  been 
used  to  oppress  and  rob  the  masses,  and  to 

192 


THE  REAL  TRUTH 


support  the  privileged  classes.  Such  was  the 
condition  in  Greece  and  Rome  and  all  of  the 
ancient  governments  that  have  decayed. 
France  suffered  from  the  same  disease,  and  it 
took  revolution  after  revolution  to  rid  her  of 
the  deadly  poison— to  purify  the  body  politic. 
When  the  Normans  conquered  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  of  the  British  Islands  and  set  up  a 
nobility  and  legal  caste,  the  same  deadly  dis- 
ease was  generated  into  the  body  politic  for 
centuries,  and  the  great  vitality  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  has  been  the  only  thing  that  has 
saved  organized  society  in  the  British  Islands 
from  complete  decay.  Through  the  centuries, 
the  spirit  of  Anglo-Saxonism  has  fought  and 
combated  this  deadly  foe  of  organized  society 
in  England  and  has  been  unable  to  completely 
destroy  it.  Priviliged  classism  reigns  there 
now  as  the  deadliest  foe  of  the  masses. 
Through  the  centuries,  Anglo-Saxonism  has 
struggled  and  contested  for  equality  of  all 
men  in  the  body  politic  and  against  class  rule 
and  legal  caste,  in  vain. 

*^We  have  no  legal  caste  and  privileged 
classes  in  this  country,  in  a  legal  sense;  our 
laws  recognize  no  titled  classes,  no  nobility 

193 


THE  STRUGGLE 


and  no  royalty,  yet  we  have  a  privileged  class 
in  point  of  fact,— as  much  so  as  in  the  ancient 
governments.  A  privileged  class  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  the  few  using  the  powers 
of  government  and  constituted  authorities  to 
extort  a  support  and  livelihood  out  of  the 
masses;  it  is  the  few  taking  from  the  many 
what  belongs  to  the  many  without  giving 
value  received  in  return.  Other  governments 
have  had  their  legal  caste  where  this  author- 
ity (not  a  right  but  a  wrong)  was  recognized 
by  law.  In  our  government  we  have  not  the 
legal  privileged  class,  but  the  commercial 
privileged  class.  The  wrongs  and  the  out- 
rages that  other  governments  have  permitted 
to  be  perpetrated  under  the  color  of  legal 
caste  and  privileged  classism,  we  permit 
under  color  of  commercial  privileged  class- 
ism,—in  other  words,  the  commercial  classism 
in  our  government  takes  the  place  of  legal 
caste  and  classism  in  ancient  and  other  gov- 
ernments, and  in  each  and  every  case  the  re- 
sults are  the  same— it  is  the  few  extorting 
from  the  masses  what  they  create  without 
giving  anything  in  return.  With  us,  we  have 
*  Uncrowned  Kings  of  Finance,'  who  by  sys- 

194 


TEE  REAL  TRUTE 


terns  and  combinations  have  destroyed  the 
laws  of  supply,  demand  and  competition  and 
thereby  said  to  the  producer  what  he  shall 
take  for  what  he  produces,  and  to  the  con- 
sumer what  he  shall  pay  for  what  he  consumes 
—a  system  which  destroys  every  natural  law 
and  robs  both  producer  and  consumer— ex- 
torts the  natural  wealth  of  the  body  politic 
from  the  many  and  collects  it  into  the  hands 
of  the  few.  In  other  governments  they  have 
had  the  legal  caste,  nobility  and  royalty,  who 
by  virtue  of  their  legal  caste  extorted  a  living 
from  the  rest  of  the  body  politic.  Their  sys- 
tems may  have  differed  from  our  commercial 
privileged  classism  in  color,  but  in  point  of  fact 
they  are  the  same  and  the  effects  are  the  same 
in  both  cases.  Both  are  wrong  in  point  of  fact 
and  principle,  and  in  violation  of  every  law 
of  man  and  of  God— in  violation  of  every  con- 
ception of  right  and  of  justice,  in  violation  of 
every  principle  promulgated  by  God  to  man, 
and  were  devised  by  designing  and  unprin- 
cipled men  to  rob  and  plunder  the  many  for 
the  few. 

**The  offices  and  the  functions  of  govern- 
ment are  to  keep  the  strong  from  oppressing 

195 


THE  STRUGGLE 


the  weak,  to  preserve  law  and  order  in  Or- 
ganized Society,  to  the  end  that  justice  and 
right  shall  prevail  among  men— that  every 
man  shall  reap  the  fruits  of  his  own  labor; 
and  when  the  functions  of  government  are 
perverted  to  private  interests  and  used  to 
collect  the  wealth  that  the  many  create  into 
the  hands  of  the  few,  it  is  none  the  less  robbery 
because  it  is  done  in  the  name  and  under  the 
color  of  law.  This  has  been  the  curse  of  civ- 
ilization through  the  ages.  In  all  of  the  gov- 
ernments of  the  ancients  where  class  rule  pre- 
vailed, privileged  classism  was  a  divine  right, 
—the  right  of  the  few  to  live  in  luxury  and  dis- 
sipation out  of  the  wealth  extorted  by  the 
legal  class  from  the  masses  received  the 
Divine  unction  and  was  an  authority  that  no 
oppressed  yeoman  dare  to  deny.  To  deny 
this  Divine  unction— this  Holy  authority  of 
the  privileged  few,  meant  death  to  the  op- 
pressed peasant.  What  were  the  common 
people  created  for  if  not  to  support  the  priv- 
ileged few  and  the  legal  caste?  For  what 
other  purposes  could  the  masses  be  used  ex- 
cept to  support  the  nobility  and  the  royalty  in 
luxury  and  dissipation?    There  could  be  but 

196 


THE  REAL  TRUTH 


one  answer  to  this  question  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  privileged  classes :  *  God  created 
them  for  ns  and  to  work  for  ns,  and  we  cre- 
ated governments,  kings  and  monarchs  in  or- 
der to  rule  and  control  them— in  order  to 
carry  out  God's  purpose  and  hence  ^^ Divine 
rights  of  Kings."  '  Such  has  been  the  way 
that  governmental  institutions  have  been 
prostituted  through  the  ages  by  an  unprin- 
cipled, thieving  class  who  regard  neither  the 
rights  of  man  nor  the  laws  of  God.  They  have 
oppressed,  robbed  and  plundered  the  masses 
through  the  centuries  until  the  yoke  of  op- 
pression became  so  galling  that  the  poor 
down-trodden  peasants  and  serfs  could  not 
stand  it  any  longer  and  exist,  and  as  a  reac- 
tion against  these  wrongs  revolution  after 
revolution  marched  through  the  centuries, 
murdering  and  slaughtering  humanity  every- 
where in  order  to  free  the  oppressed  masses 
from  the  robbery  of  these  thieves.  Oh,  the 
wrongs,  the  robbery,  the  plunder,  the  crimes 
that  have  been  committed  through  the  march 
of  the  centuries  by  the  thieving  criminal  class 
under  the  name  of  law,  government  and  God ; 
oh,  the  governments  that  this  privileged  and 

197 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


criminal  class  have  overthrown  by  their  op- 
pression in  the  name  of  law;  oh,  the  thefts 
that  they  have  committed  in  the  name  and  by 
the  authority  of  government;  oh,  the  crimes 
and  murders  that  they  have  committed  in 
the  name  of  God.    As  we  roll  back  the  canvas 
of  the  centuries  and  behold  these  crimes,  these 
crimes— these  crimes  against  man  and  against 
God,  the  great  pulsating,  bleeding  heart  of  a 
righteous  humanity  everywhere  cries  out  from 
its  innermost  soul,  *  Free,  oh,  free,  deliver,  oh, 
deliver  the  human  family  from  these  thieves 
and  criminals— these  arch  enemies  of  the  hu- 
man race.'  As  a  result  of  the  protest  through 
the  centuries  against  these  wrongs  which  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  has  made  and  the  final  evo- 
lution of  the  original  conception  of  govern- 
ment by  this  great  race,  this  American  Ee- 
public  has  been  created  and  legal  caste  and 
nobility  and  royalty  have  been  destroyed  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic.    We  have  left  these 
wrongs,  which  are  recognized  by  law,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  waters,  but  we  have  wrongs 
here  in  this  republic  which  is  the  final  evolu- 
tion and  consummation  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
theory  of  government,  that  are  not  recognized 

198 


THE  REAL  TRUTH 


by  law,  and  under  our  system  are  intended  to 
be  prohibited  and  punished  by  law;  wrongs 
that  exist  in  defiance  of  law.    Law  and  gov- 
ernment should  rest  on  basic  principles  of  jus- 
tice; law  and  government  should  know  no 
class.    All  should  be  equal  parties  before  the 
law  of  the  land ;  law  should  protect  the  weak 
and  prevent  the  strong  from  oppressing  the 
weak;  law  should  protect  the  rights  of  the 
poor  as  well  as  the  rich ;  law  should  require 
all  rich  and  poor  to  respect  its  judgments; 
law  should  punish  the  strong  as  well  as  the 
weak-the  rich  as  well  as  the  poor-when  its 
decrees  and  judgments  are  violated.    Govern- 
ments should  have  no  favorites.     All  should 
be  required  to  submit  to  its  authority ;  yet  in 
this  republic  there  is  a  commercial  plutocracy 
that  respects  neither  the  authority  of  the  gov- 
ernment nor  the  judgment  of  the  courts.  This 
plutocracy  has  prostituted  the  functions  of  the 
government  to  its  own  private  ends,  until  the 
few  who  constitute  its  class  have  become  more 
powerful   than   the   government, -they   pos- 
sess more  wealth  than  the  government— more 
wealth  than  the  eighty  millions  who  constitute 
the  body  politic.    They  own  and  control  all 

199 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


the  public  utilities  of  the  government  and 
thereby  levy  tribute  on  every  citizen  of  the 
republic.  They  own  and  control  the  public 
franchises  of  every  village,  town  and  city  and 
commonwealth  within  the  Union.  They  ^^ 
and  unfix  laws  of  transportation  in  defiance 
of  all  law  and  constituted  authority,  and  there- 
by levy  tribute  on  every  article  of  food  and 
every  thread  of  raiment  transported  and  con- 
sumed by  the  American  people.  They  have 
usurped  from  the  government  the  sovereign 
functions  of  issuing  and  coining  money,  and 
thereby  levy  tribute  on  every  citizen  of  the 
Union.  They  have  united  and  combined  their 
wealth  until  they  have  destroyed  the  natural 
laws  of  supply,  demand  and  competition,  and 
thereby  lower  the  prices  of  the  producer  and 
raise  the  prices  of  the  consumer  at  will,  until 
the  prices  of  every  article  produced  and  every 
thread  worn  and  every  article  of  food  con- 
sumed by  the  eighty  million  American  peo- 
ple are  at  their  mercy.  They  have  organized 
their  systematic  combinations  until  they  have 
driven  every  independent  and  every  individ- 
ual dealer  out  of  business  and  reduced  the 
great  masses  of  our  people  from  individual 

200 


TEE  REAL  TRUTH 


dealers  and  independent  American  citizens 
to  individual  serfs,  in  defiance  of  all  law  and 
of  all  government,  just  as  the  landlords  and 
barons  in  the  ages  passed  reduced  the  masses 
to  peasants  and  serfs.  With  their  money  and 
through  their  hirelings  they  control  all  the 
political  parties  of  the  country,  elect  and  de- 
feat governors,  judges  and  presidents  at  will ; 
with  their  money  and  through  their  systems 
of  corruption  they  make  and  unmake  laws  and 
change  statutes  at  will;  through  their  gam- 
bling stock  exchanges  they  make  fictitious 
values  and  destroy  real  values  at  will,  in  or- 
der to  destroy  the  legitimate  property  rights 
of  the  individual  citizen,  the  widow  and  the 
orphan;  through  their  organized  political 
power  they  change  and  create  tariff  laws  at 
will,  so  as  to  wreck  and  destroy  the  property 
rights  of  all  competitors;  through  their  or- 
ganized financial  and  political  power  they  own 
and  control  the  greatest  republic  on  earth, 
which  was  constructed  to  rule  and  govern  a 
great  and  free  people,  simply  as  their  agent 
to  carry  out  and  to  execute  their  plans.  The 
government  has  ceased  to  be  a  government 
of  the  people,  but  their  agent— they  use  it  to 

201 


THE  STRUGGLE 


destroy  competition  and  to  throttle  the  will 
of  the  people;  they  make  such  laws  through 
their  'agent,'  the  government,  as  they  wish; 
through  their  new  government  they  have  such 
laws  placed  on  the  statute  books  as  they  wish, 
so  as  to  create  panics  and  destroy  property 
rights  at  will.  The  government  and  consti- 
tuted authority  of  eighty  millions  of  people 
stand  paralyzed  in  their  grasp— helpless  and 
defenseless,  yielding  to  their  will  and  their 
mercy.  They  do  not  consider  that  all  law 
should  be  created  to  enforce  an  inherent  right 
or  to  prevent  an  inherent  wrong.  With  them 
all  law  and  government  should  be  used  to 
rob  and  plunder  the  masses.  In  the  last  anal- 
ysis they  are  simply  Organized  Anarchists— 
plunderers  and  thieves  and  criminals  against 
Organized  Society— common  felons  and  ene- 
mies to  humanity,  for  the  Anarchist  is  noth- 
ing more  nor  less  than  one  who  does  not  sub- 
mit to  law,  order  and  the  rules  of  Organized 
Society,  but  claims  that  his  individual  rights 
are  superior  to  the  rights  of  Organized  Socie- 
ty, and  therefore  his  own  will  is  the  only  law 
that  he  considers  or  regards.  These  men  and 
their  combinations  are  more  powerful  than 

202 


TEE  REAL  TRUTH 


the  government.  They  bid  defiance  to  all  law, 
government  and  constituted  authorities ;  they 
use  their  power  and  combinations  to  crush  out 
*  competition  and  destroy  property  rights  in 
violation  and  in  defiance  of  all  law,  justice, 
right  and  morals.  Judged  therefore  by  every 
criterion  of  Organized  Society,  they  are  Or- 
ganized Anarchists  and  common  criminals 
and  felons  and  should  be  dealt  with  as  such 
by  Organized  Society.  Organized  Society 
must  destroy  them  or  they  will  destroy  it. 
They  are  the  real  Anarchists  and  Nihilists  of 
this  government. 

The  men  who  are  usually  termed  Anarchists 
and  Socialists  are  not  criminals.  They  are 
men  who  know  that  something  is  wrong- 
that  a  great  wrong  exists  somewhere;  they 
know  that  they  are  creating  the  wealth  of 
the  land,  and  in  the  distribution  they  are  not 
getting  their  just  share,  but  just  where  the 
wrong  is  they  do  not  know.  They  have  a  just 
complaint  but  do  not  know  what  allegations 
to  aver;  they  are  not  bad  men  at  heart,  they 
are  searching  for  the  truth ;  they  do  not  want 
to  destroy  the  government,  they  only  want 
their  moral  and  just  rights.    But  they  are  dis- 

203 


TEE  ^TBUGGLE 


organized  and  divided  among  themselves— 
they  are  not  agreed  upon  any  plans  or  con- 
cert of  action;  their  efforts  are  of  no  effect; 
they  are  termed  erratic  and  without  judgment 
and  by  their  own  acts  cause  themselves  to  be 
misjudged  and  abused.  They  of  all  men  need 
the  protection  of  the  law  and  the  government, 
for  without  the  law  and  the  government  they 
are  helpless  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  Organ- 
ized Anarchists.  Their  only  hope  is  in  edu- 
cation, investigation,  organization  and  respect 
for  law  and  the  constituted  authorities. 

Our  political  and  sociological  condition, 
briefly  summed  up,  therefore,  is  this :  Organ- 
ized Capital  as  constituted  in  this  country  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  Organized  An- 
archy and  has  all  laws  and  constituted  author- 
ities and  the  government  at  its  mercy  and 
will  finally  destroy  this  government,  as  the 
legal  class  and  privileged  classism  have  de- 
stroyed all  the  governments  through  the  cen- 
turies, unless  the  masses  investigate,  organize 
and  rise  up  in  their  power  and  crush  out  these 
criminal  organizations  and  punish  the  crim- 
inals as  the  enemies  of  Organized  Society  and 

204 


THE  REAL  TRUTH 


thereby  rehabilitate  the  repubhe  with  law  and 
order  and  the  spirit  of  the  Fathers/' 

As  the  doctor  spoke  his  concluding  words 
he  emphasized  them  with  force  and  earnest- 
ness that  carried  conviction  to  his  hearers. 
When  the  last  sentence  was  concluded,  men 
with  glasses,  bald  heads  and  intelligent  faces 
who  had  listened  with  attentive  ears,  rushed 
for  the  platform,  each  making  an  earnest  ef- 
'fort  to  shake  the  doctor's  hand  first.  **That 
was  a  great  treat,  doctor.  Oh,  if  the  people  of 
this  republic  could  only  have  heard  it,  what 
a  blessing  it  would  have  been,"  said  one  long, 
angular,  hungry-looking  fellow.  *^  Thank 
you,"  said  the  doctor.  *'I  wish  to  thank  you 
for  that  learned  discourse,"  said  another  bald 
head,  wearing  glasses.  *^ Thank  you,"  said 
the  doctor  with  a  smile.  **I  wish  that  every 
intelligent  American  citizen  could  have  heard 
your  remarks,"  said  another  hungry,  lean- 
looking  fellow.  ^* Thank  you,"  said  the  doc- 
tor with  a  smile.  Thus  the  doctor  stood  shak- 
ing hands  with  these  fellows  with  bald  heads, 
glasses  and  hungry-looking,  lean  forms,  yet 
students  of  existing  conditions,  smiling  and 
thanking  each  for  his  congratulations.    And 

205 


I)  THE  STRUGGLE 


I  the  meeting  adjourned  in  this  informal  man- 

!  ner.    It  was  an  intellectual  feast  for  all,  and 

each  had  secured  information  that  he  could 
use  through  the  magazines,  newspapers  and 
on  the  rostrum,  information  that  was  taking 
hold  of  and  permeating  the  American  people 
and  must  in  the  end  evolve  and  solve  the 
truth  according  to  free  government. 


206  I 


CHAPTER  XVI 


THE  ^  *  CAPTAINS  OF  FINANCE ' '  CONTINUE  IN 


BUSINESS 


THESE  ^^ Captains  of  Finance,''  Pont 
Slogan  and  his  associates,  cared  little 
and  thought  less  of  what  the  Socialists 
said  or  did.  They  had  no  time  to  consider 
the  theories  and  dreams  of  the  members  of 
the  independent  Civic  League.  They  went  on 
with  their  business ;  they  had  no  time  to  con- 
sider the  threats  or  demands  of  the  Socialists 
and  Anarchists  and  the  clamor  of  the  *'fool 
people."  What  were  the  people,  the  *'fool 
masses,"  made  for  anyhow  but  to  be  used  by 
them  in  their  business,  and  for  them  to  accu- 
mulate fortunes  out  of?  For  what  other  pur- 
poses could  the  **fool  masses"  have  been  put 
here  except  to  create  wealth  for  them? 
The  '*fool  masses"— the  people— did  not 
know  how  to  protect  themselves.  Let  them 
grumble  and  growl— what  could  they  do? 

207 


THE  STRUGGLE 


**Let  them  protest  and  denounce,  but  we  will 
go  on  working  them  and  reaping  the  fruits 
of  their  labor  as  we  have  always  done,"  said 
Slogan  and  his  associates.  *^We  will  go  on 
executing  our  business  plans,  consolidating 
railroads,  telegraph  companies,  telephone 
companies,  electric  light  companies,  steam- 
ship companies,  and  all  the  public  functions 
of  government ;  creating  and  controlling  stock 
exchanges  out  of  which  to  create  fictitious 
values  and  destroy  real  values ;  creating  and 
controlling  combinations  of  the  wheat  mar- 
ket, the  com  market,  the  beef  market  and  the 
pork  market,  so  as  to  name  the  prices  on  every 
article  consumed  by  the  American  people; 
creating  and  controlling  the  cotton  market 
and  the  wool  market,  so  as  to  name  prices  on 
every  thread  of  raiment  worn  by  eighty  mil- 
lions of  people ;  we  will  go  on  defeating  laws 
that  interfere  with  our  business  interests,  and 
creating  laws  that  will  give  us  the  right  to 
carry  out  our  plans  and  purposes ;  we  will  go 
on  buying  the  City  Councils,  the  Boards  of 
Aldermen  and  the  officials  of  the  city  govern- 
ments, in  order  to  control  the  public  utility  in- 
stitutions of  the  municipalities  of  the  land; 

208 


TEE  ''CAPTAINS  OF  FINANCE'' 

we  will  go  on  through  our  lobbyists,  *  General 
Agents'  and  ^Advisory  Counsels'  control- 
ling the  Legislatures  of  the  commonwealths 
of  the  Union,  so  as  to  create  such  class  legisla- 
tion as  is  necessary  to  operate  our  monopolies 
and  combines ;  we  will  go  on  through  our  lob- 
byists, *  General  Agents, '  ^  Special  Agents  and 
'Advisory  Counsels,'  influencing  and  con- 
trolling the  legislation  of  Congress  to  the 
end  that  combinations  and  monopolies  may 
control  the  price  of  both  the  producer  and  the 
consumer  throughout  the  land;  we  will  go  on 
issuing  free  passes  to  the  judiciary,  legisla- 
tors and  congressmen,  thereby  influencing  and 
controlling  their  actions;  and  let  the  people 
growl  and  grumble  and  clamor  and  protest 
—what  can  they  dot" 

Pont  Slogan  and  his  associates  executed 
their  purposes  and  they  formed  combines  on 
the  meat  market,  on  the  corn  market  and  on 
the  wheat  market,  so  as  to  fix  the  prices  on 
every  article  of  food  produced  by  the  pro- 
ducer and  to  name  the  price  of  every  article 
of  food  consumed  by  the  consumer ;  they  cor- 
nered the  cotton  and  the  wool  market  so  as 
to  name  the  price  on  every  article  of  cotton 

209 


THE  STRUGGLE 


and  wool  produced  by  the  producer  and  to 
name  the  price  of  every  thread  of  raiment 
worn  by  the  consumer;  they  organized  and 
controlled  all  the  stock  exchanges  in  the 
centers  of  trade,  and  by  their  branch  of- 
fices they  formed  a  complete  net-work  system 
throughout  the  land,  so  as  to  create  fictitious 
values  at  will  and  thereby  to  crush  legitimate 
values  and  business  institutions  and  then  to 
buy  in  their  stock  and  bonds  when  the  values 
thereof  had  decreased,  and  after  securing 
title  to  them,  to  create  fictitious  values  to 
them  and  reissue  stock  and  bonds  on  *^  wa- 
tered'' assets,  and  to  levy  tribute  upon  the 
public  by  charging  exorbitant  rates,  in  order 
to  pay  dividends  and  interest  on  their  stocks 
and  bonds  issued  on  fictitious  values ;  they  con- 
trolled and  operated  their  stock  exchanges 
and  they  organized  branch  olBfices  throughout 
the  land  and  converted  them  into  gambling 
dens  to  plunder  the  masses  by  enticing  the 
public  to  take  a  hand  in  games  of  chance  on 
values  where  the  chances  were  fixed  and  de- 
termined beforehand  in  favor  of  the  con- 
trollers and  manipulators  of  these  dives; 
these   stock  markets   and  their  network  of 

210 


TEE  ''CAPTAINS  OF  FINANCE'' 

branch  offices  were  converted  into  chances  of 
steal  that  were  always  against  the  public. 
They  went  into  collusion  with  the  great  Life 
Insurance  Companies  and  all  the  great  cor- 
porations that  had  collected  from  the  people, 
under  the  color  of  business,  all  the  money  of 
the  country,  and  thereby  controlled  the  money 
market  and  could  thereby  create  financial  pan- 
ics at  will  by  holding  up  the  money  that  should 
be  in  circulation  among  the  people  and  legiti- 
mate marts  of  commerce.  By  declaring  pan- 
ics they  could  wreck  property  values  and  busi- 
ness institutions  and  property  rights,  and  buy 
in  the  property  at  any  value  they  wished,  and 
then  suspend  the  panic  and  create  fictitious 
values  on  the  property  and  resell  it  to  the 
people.  They  organized  their  methods  into  a 
complete  system  of  combines  so  as  to  decrease 
and  increase  at  will  the  value  of  every  article 
that  the  people  produced  and  the  people  con- 
sumed. They  held  every  business  enterprise 
of  the  country  at  their  mercy;  they  could 
bankrupt  any  banking  house,  mercantile 
house,  manufacturing  house  or  other  business 
institution  at  a  moment's  notice  by  declaring 
commercial  war  upon  it;  no  banker,  no  mer- 

211 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


chant,  no  manufacturer  dared  to  hold  views 
contrary  to  their  wishes  either  politically  or 
otherwise,  for  to  oppose  them  or  their  inter- 
est meant  that  war  would  be  declared  upon  his 
business  and  that  he  would  soon  be  a  financial 
bankrupt  and  a  business  wreck;  they  organ- 
ized   the  whole    industrial    and    commercial 
system  of  the  country  into  combinations  and 
organizations  that  were  in  harmony  with  each 
other,     and     concentrated     their     financial 
strength  into  their  own  hands  and  thereby 
held  the  entire  commercial  and  business  in- 
terest of  the  country  within  their  own  grasp. 
The  individual  merchant  and  the  individual 
manufacturer  were  forced  out  of  business 
one  by  one,  until  they  all  soon  became  em- 
ployes of  Slogan  and  his  associates  and  sub- 
ject to  the  orders  and  dictation  of  the  men 
in  charge  of  these  combinations.    Instead  of 
a  country  where  individual  enterprise  and  in- 
dividual interests  and  individual  business  in- 
stitutions existed,  the  whole  business  and  com- 
mercial interests  of  the  country  were  under 
the  control  and  dictatorship  of  these  *' Cap- 
tains of  Finance."   Instead  of  a  country  com- 
posed of  individual,  prosperous  business  men, 

212 


THE  ''CAPTAINS  OF  FINANCE'' 

these  ^'Captains  of  Finance''  had  converted 
the  commercial  system  of  the  land  into  combi- 
nations and  organizations  that  controlled  the 
entire  commercial  fabric  and  caused  the  thou- 
sands of  employes  who  operated  and  carried 
on  these  combinations  to  become  industrial 
serfs.  They  converted  the  republic  of  indi- 
vidual citizenship  and  individual  business  in- 
terest into  a  republic  of  dependent  and  in- 
dustrial slaves,  and  by  their  grasp  and  control 
of  the  entire  financial  interest  of  the  govern- 
ment, suppressed  every  independent  business 
interest  that  attempted  to  compete  with  their 
system  of  industrial  slavery.  Through  their 
'^ Special  Agents'',  *^ General  Agents"  and 
*^ Advisory  Counsels"  they  suppressed  every 
attempt  at  legislation  that  sought  to  inter- 
fere with  their  system  of  industrial  slavery. 
They  held  the  governments,  the  common- 
wealths of  the  Union  and  the  industrial  sys- 
tem of  organized  society  at  their  mercy,  rais- 
ing prices  and  destroying  values  and  wreck- 
ing institutions  at  will.  They  bid  defiance  to 
all  law  and  all  order,  and  created  laws  and 
destroyed  laws  at  will.  They  became  the 
source  of  all  law  and  the  source  of  all  gov- 

213 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


ernment  and  owners  of  the  industrial  system 
of  eighty  million  people,  and  reduced  the 
masses  to  industrial  slavery  just  as  the  aris- 
tocrary  reduced  the  masses  to  serfdom  in  the 
Eoman  Empire  in  centuries  past.  Inde- 
pendent business  institutions  everywhere 
went  down  beneath  their  onslaught,  independ- 
ent business  men  everywhere  went  out  of  busi- 
ness and  became  their  industrial  serfs,  the 
values  of  the  agricultural  products  of  the 
farmers  of  the  land  were  destroyed,  and  the 
rising  generation  of  farmers,  seeing  no  hope 
for  the  future,  deserted  the  homesteads  of 
their  fathers  and  fled  to  the  towns  and  the 
villages  and  the  cities  to  become  employees 
and  industrial  slaves  in  the  commercial  com- 
binations of  these  '  *  Captains  of  Finance. ' '  In 
the  villages,  towns  and  cities,  the  independ- 
ent merchant,  independent  manufacturer  and 
independent  business  men  of  every  character 
and  description  were  driven  out  of  business 
and  forced  to  become  employees  and  enter  the 
industrial  slave  systems  of  the  *^  Captains  of 
Finance."  Independentism  they  destroyed 
everywhere— men  no  longer  had  wills  of  their 
own,  but  the  thousands  upon  thousands  who 

214 


TEE  ''CAPTAINS  OF  FINANCE 


ff 


were  reduced  from  independent  citizens  to  the 
industrial  slavery  of  these  ' '  Captains  of  Fi- 
nance/' lost  their  independence  as  citizens 
and  became  the  industrial  slaves  of  this  new 
organized  industrial  system  of  these  **  Cap- 
tains of  Finance.''  The  whole  body  politic 
was  reduced  to  commercial  and  industrial 
slavery,  and  these  '* Captains  of  Finance" 
were  the  commercial  autocrats  that  dictated 
and  controlled  the  republic  commercially, 
financially,  politically  and  even  religiously, 
for  these  industrial  slaves,  these  political 
slaves  and  these  clerical  slaves  dared  not  pro- 
mulgate and  advocate  the  issues  that  were 
contrary  to  the  wishes  of  these  ''Captains  of 
Finance."  They  owned  and  controlled  the 
republic  politically,  industrially,  financially, 
and  even  religiously ;  they  had  reduced  eighty 
millions  of  Anglo-Saxon  freemen  to  indus- 
trial, political,  financial  and  religious  slavery 
and  serfdom. 

They  had  all  of  the  money  and  controlled 
all  of  the  wealth  of  the  land,  and  the  great 
masses  were  at  their  mercy.  The  republic 
was  no  longer  a  government  composed  of  free 
men,  but  of  industrial  slaves ;  they  made  and 

215 


THE  STRUGGLE 


unmade  the  laws,  they  governed  and  con- 
trolled states  and  dominated  the  affairs  of  the 
republic.  The  citizen,  the  politician  and  the 
clergyman  were  at  their  mercy— none  could 
withstand  their  influences.  The  power  of 
their  financial  influence  was  felt  everywhere, 
in  the  political  arena,  in  the  legislative  halls, 
at  the  Bar,  on  the  Bench  and  in  the  pulpit— 
for  none  dare  incur  their  ill  will,  to  do  so 
meant  suicide  and  death.  They  could  create 
industrial  and  financial  panics  at  will,  they 
could  destroy  values  and  property  rights  at 
will,  they  could  destroy  the  politician  and 
the  statesman  at  will.  They  could  make  and 
unmake  laws  at  will,  they  could  destroy  legis- 
lators, judges,  governors,  senators  and  the 
holy  men  of  the  pulpit  at  will— none  could 
hold  views  contrary  to  their  interests  and 
none  dare  promulgate  doctrines  contrary  to 
their  creeds.  They  muzzled  the  mouth  of  the 
professor  in  the  college  and  dictated  to  him 
what  political  school  of  science  he  should 
teach;  they  gave  to  the  statesman  his  creed 
and  governed  his  policies  in  the  legislative 
halls  of  his  country;  they  dealt  out  to  the 
man  of  God  in  the  Holy  Temple,  his  theolog- 

216 


TEE  ''CAPTAINS  OF  FINANCE'' 

ical  creed  and  muzzled  him  so  he  dare  not 
teach  anything  that  would  disturb  existing 
conditions  and  that  would  be  injurious  to 
their  interests.  Freedom  of  thought  might 
prevail,  but  not  freedom  of  speech.  Inde- 
pendence in  speech  and  action  by  the  Amer- 
ican people  was  absolutely  and  uncondition- 
ally surrendered  to  these  **  Captains  of  Fi- 
nance;" the  republic  was  reduced  from  a 
nation  independent  in  thought,  speech  and  ac- 
tion to  industrial  slavery  and  mental  bond- 
age. The  Nation  was  crushed,  it  was  no 
longer  a  people  of  industrial  freedom  and 
mental  and  moral  independence,  but  of  men- 
tal and  moral  serfdom.  These  *' Captains  of 
Finance"  had  reduced  eighty  millions  of 
people  of  the  greatest  race  of  the  world  from 
industrial  and  mental  freedom  to  industrial 
and  mental  slavery.  They  had  reduced  eighty 
millions  of  happy  and  prosperous  people  of 
the  greatest  republic  on  earth  to  bondage  and 
slavery.  They  owned  and  controlled  the 
masses  as  the  Caesars  of  Eome  owned  and 
controlled  their  serfs. 

Individualism  in  business,  individualism  in 
ownership    of    property,    individualism    in 

217 


THE  STRUGGLE 


expression  and  individualism  in  action  was 
everywhere  crushed— the  wealth  of  the  Na- 
tion was  their  property,  the  government  their 
organized  force,  to  hold  the  people  in  servi- 
tude and  the  masses  their  slaves. 


218 


CHAPTER  XVII 


THE    EFFECT 


THE  effect  of  the  actions  of  these  ** Un- 
crowned Kings  of  Finance"  was  felt 
everywhere;  the  farmers  of  the  land 
became  bankrupt;  the  individual  retail  mer- 
chant, a  bankrupt;  the  individual  banker, 
a  bankrupt;  the  individual  manufacturer, 
a  bankrupt;  the  private  broker,  a  bankrupt; 
and  the  dealers  in  legitimate  enterprises 
throughout  the  land  were  bankrupts  every- 
where. 

The  effect  of  these  conditions  was  felt  by 
the  Shelton  family.  Col.  Shelton  had  died 
soon  after  the  family  reunion  of  heart  dis- 
ease ;  and  just  man  that  he  was  and  knowing 
that  his  other  three  sons-in-law  were  well  to 
do  financially  and  possessed  a  great  deal  more 
wealth  than  Alex.  Wilson,  he  willed  the  old 
home  place  to  his  youngest  daughter  Grace 
as  a  home,  dividing  the  rest  of  his  estate 

219 


THE  STRUGGLE 


equitably  and  justly  among  tlie  other  three 
daughters.  Soon  after  his  demise,  his  good 
and  true  wife  passed  into  the  great  unknown 
and  joined  him  on  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
Each  passed  out  feeling  that  life  had  been  a 
reality  and  a  success ;  that  they  had  marched 
hand  in  hand  on  this  side  of  the  river  in  peace 
and  joy,  and  that  on  the  other  side  they  would 
reunite  and  continue  the  union  in  the  realm 
where  there  is  no  parting.  They  had  left 
behind  them  the  fruits  of  their  lives,  four 
beautiful  queenly  women— the  queens  of  four 
American  homes— the  wives  of  four  freemen 
— greater  queens  than  those  who  reigned  in 
the  royal  Courts  and  oppressed  the  millions 
with  their  power  of  usurpation ;  but  they  were 
not  to  remain  the  wives  of  freemen  long — 
things  were  changing— ere  long  they  were 
to  be  the  wives  of  bankrupts— the  housewives 
of  deserted  homes.  The  queenly  mothers  of 
the  land  that  make  a  nation  great  were  rap- 
idly becoming  the  housewives  of  bankrupt 
husbands  and  bankrupt  homes,— so  was  it 
with  the  Shelton  family. 

Mr.  Winston  had  conducted  a  large  planta- 
tion at  Shellsboro,  Ala.,  and  Mr.  Kinston  had 

220 


TEE  EFFECT 


engaged  extensively  in  sugar  planting  at  his 
home  at  Tatesboro,  La.  Both  were  men  of 
enterprise  and  industry,  both  had  good 
futures,  both  loved  their  homes  and  their  fam- 
ilies. Each  was  a  king  in  his  own  household ; 
they  were  the  type  of  men  that  make  a  nation 
great,  devoted  to  their  homes,  their  families 
and  their  country.  They  were  determined  by 
honest  efforts  and  labor  to  fulfill  the  highest 
duty  in  life,  to  provide  their  families  with  the 
comforts  of  life.  They  labored  hard,  they 
toiled  long.  In  the  beginning  it  looked  bright 
for  them,  all  the  way  looked  clear  to  them— 
they  were  buoyant  with  hope  and  good  spirits ; 
but  each  year  as  the  effects  of  the  actions  of 
the  organized  ^ '  Captains  of  Finance ' '  in  Wall 
Street  began  to  be  felt  over  the  land,  things 
began  to  look  darker  and  darker  for  these  two 
promising  young  American.  Each  year  the 
clouds  gathered  thicker  and  thicker,  each  year 
brought  disappointment.  As  the  * '  Captains  of 
Finance''  fixed  their  clamps  tighter  and 
tighter  on  the  material  affairs  of  the  land,  as 
the  effect  of  their  organizations  and  combina- 
tions, more  and  more  gloom  and  darkness  be- 
gan to  hover  everywhere,  and  disappointment 

'     221 


THE  STRUGGLE 


began  to  be  realized  by  the  individual  citizen 
at  every  point  and  on  every  issue  of  material 
development.  The  price  of  raw  sugar  and  cot- 
ton began  to  decrease  and  the  price  of  every- 
thing that  they  consumed  on  the  plantations 
began  to  increase.  Everything  that  Winston 
and  Kinston  raised  was  on  the  decline,  and  the 
price  of  everything  that  they  consumed  was 
on  the  increase.  They  fought  hard,  but  each 
year  they  found  that  they  were  becoming 
deeper  in  debt.  Each  year  they  toiled  hard 
and  labored  long,  made  every  effort  to  make 
up  for  the  losses  of  the  preceding  year,  but 
all  in  vain.  They  toiled,  they  labored,  but  each 
year  they  were  the  losers;  each  year  carried 
them  nearer  to  the  Court  of  Bankruptcy  and 
to  the  auction  block  of  the  sheriff;  each  year 
carried  them  on  to  financial  ruin  and  destruc- 
tion. It  could  not  be  otherwise,  for  each  year 
the  ** Captains  of  Finance*'  of  Wall  Street 
were  fixing  their  clamps  tighter  and  tighter. 
Each  year  these  ** Captains  of  Finance" 
were  drawing  in  their  millions  while  the 
wealth  producers  were  becoming  poorer  and 
poorer.    Each  year  the  raising  of  rice  and  cot- 

222 


THE  EFFECT 


ton  became  more  unprofitable.  Each  year 
found  both  Winston  and  Kinston  deeper  in 
debt,  and  they  both  soon  became  bankrupts; 
their  crops,  their  horses,  their  cattle,  their 
farming  implements,  their  farms  were  all 
mortgaged  for  more  than  they  would  bring 
on  the  auctioneer's  block.  They  fought  hard, 
they  toiled  hard  and  long,  they  both  had 
fought  patiently  and  bravely,  but  in  vain. 
Their  hopes  in  life  were  blighted,  they  saw 
their  families  moving  on  to  want  and  poverty, 
they  saw  no  star  of  hope— no  way  to  give  to 
their  families  the  necessities  and  comforts  of 
life.  To  them  life  was  a  living  death— a 
gradual  death— a  continuous  crucifi:xion.  To 
end  it  all  was  better  than  to  continue  the  pro- 
longed crucifixion;  to  see  those  that  they 
loved,  those  that  they  had  brought  into  exist- 
ence, humiliated  and  in  need  and  in  want, 
robbed  of  the  fruits  of  their  toil,  was  more 
than  death.  Kinston  as  he  faced  the  real 
facts,  when  selling  his  last  crop  of  sugar  in 
New  Orleans,  and  saw  all  was  gone— home, 
plantations  and  credit— everything  that  he 
possessed  on  earth,  went  to  his  room  in  the  St. 
Charles  Hotel.     It  was  there  that  he  had 

223 


THE  STRUGGLE 


stopped  in  better  days  gone  by  when  all  was 
going  well,  when  the  future  had  nothing  but 
sunlight  and  hope.  He  went  to  his  room  and 
a  thousand  thoughts  went  dashing  through 
his  mind.  *' Great  God,  has  it  come  to  this?" 
said  he.  "What  will  become  of  my  poor  fam- 
ily T'  As  he  walked  the  floor  wringing  his 
hands  and  pulling  his  hair,  he  thought  of  his 
dear  wife,  the  wife  that  clung  to  his  very  heart 
strings ;  he  thought  of  his  dear  children,  the 
fruit  of  his  loins— -*' what  will  become  of 
them ;  what  will  they  do ;  what  is  there  in  life 
for  them;— all  is  gone;''— these  and  a  thou- 
sand other  thoughts  were  dashing  through  his 
mind,  crucifying  his  soul.  To  see  the  fruit 
of  his  loins,  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  go  in  want 
and  in  need  was  worse  than  death  to  him.  As 
he  walked  his  room  and  pulled  his  hair  like  a 
wild  maniac,  he  cried  out  in  his  soul,  "Oh, 
God,  what  have  I  done  that  such  should  be  my 
fate  ? ' '  His  brain  aching  and  throbbing  with 
pain  was  worse  than  a  thousand  deaths,  and 
he  cried  out  from  his  innermost  soul,  "I  will 
end  it,  I  will  end  it!"  and  grasping  his  re- 
volver from  the  top  of  his  dresser,  he  threw 
his  head  back  and  placed  the  cold  steel  weapon 

224 


TEE  EFFECT 


of  death  near  his  temple  and  pulled  the  trig- 
ger. A  pistol  shot  rang  out  through  the  house ; 
the  guests  in  the  lobby  heard  the  noise,  every- 
body ran  up  stairs.  **Wliere  was  that  pistol 
shot?''  all  exclaimed  at  once.  **In  that  room 
there, ' '  said  an  old  colored  woman,  a  servant 
in  the  hotel.  The  clerk  opened  the  door,  and 
there  lay  Kinston,  his  life's  blood  oozing  out 
on  the  floor  and  with  the  cold  weapon  of  death 
in  his  hand.    He  was  dead. 

The  next  day  the  Picayune  and  the  Times 
Democrat  had  blazing  headlines  that '  ^  Thom- 
as Kinston,  Once  a  Prominent  Rice  Planter 
at  Tatesboro,  La.,  Commits  Suicide  at  the  St. 
Charles  Hotel."  The  newspapers  had  a  good 
photograph  of  him,  and  assigned  financial 
troubles  as  the  reason  for  the  suicide. 

The  same  day  there  was  another  tragedy  in 
a  hotel  at  Mobile,  Ala.  Winston  had  sold  the 
last  of  his  cotton  crop  and  saw  that  he  was  a 
ruined  man— that  all  was  gone ;  and  while  the 
guests  in  St.  Charles  Hotel  in  New  Orleans 
were  bathing  the  blood-stained  face  of  his 
old  life-long  friend,  Kinston,  Winston  was 
seated  in  his  room  at  his  hotel  at  Mobile, 

225 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


heartbroken  and  downcast,  crying  ont  from 
his  innermost  soul,  ^'Has  it  come  to  this!  My 
poor  family,  my  poor  family!''  he  cried  to 
himself.  He  cried  ont,  *'God  knows  I  have 
strived,  I  have  toiled,  I  have  labored— I  have 
done  all  that  a  poor  mortal  could  do,  and  I 
am  ruined,  and  I  cannot  do  any  more!  Oh, 
what  will  become  of  my  poor  family  T'  and 
then  from  the  depths  of  his  heart  he  cried  out, 
'  *  I  had  rather  be  dead  than  to  live. ' '  And  in 
this  moment  of  crucifixion  and  suffering  and 
death,  with  pains  dashing  through  his  head 
until  it  seemed  that  his  eyes  would  pop  out  of 
their  sockets  and  his  skull  would  burst  asun- 
der; in  this  mental  craze  and  suffering  and 
torture,  he  reached  for  his  keen  steel  bladed 
knife,  and  with  a  long-drawn  lick,  cut  his 
throat  from  ear  to  ear.  He  fell  face  forward 
to  the  floor  and  there  he  lay  in  cold  death,  his 
face  besmeared  in  the  pool  of  his  own  blood. 
"When  the  servants  of  the  hotel  opened  the 
door  of  his  room  and  saw  him,  it  was  a 
ghastly  sight.  Next  day  the  Mobile  Register 
and  other  papers  gave  an  account  of  the  trag- 
edy, stating  that  John  Winston  was  of  a  prom- 
inent family  and  had  been  for  many  years  a 

226 


TEE  EFFECT 


large  cotton  planter  at  Shellsboro,  Ala.  They 
assigned  financial  troubles  as  tlie  cause  of  the 
suicide. 

While  these  horrible  tragedies  were  taking 
place  in  New  Orleans  and  Mobile,  while  hon- 
orable men,  true  men,  men  with  proper  pur- 
poses in  life,  were  going  down  beneath  the 
crash  of  conditions  created  by  other  men  with- 
out conscience— paying  the  penalty  for  the 
crimes  committed  by  others,  there  was  an- 
other tragedy  playing  its  drama  near  the 
scene  where  the  enemies  of  organized  society 
put  in  action  the  causes  that  produced  these 
effects.  John  King,  who  had  married  Euth 
Shelton,  and  who  had  common  ties  with  Win- 
ston and  Kinston,  had  realized  for  some  time 
that  he  was  a  ruined  man.  He  had  made  every 
industrious  effort  to  make  his  business  a  pros- 
perous and  legitimate  business  in  New  York 
City ;  he  had  inherited  from  his  father  a  rea- 
sonable amount  of  capital  to  conduct  a  legiti- 
mate business  and  make  a  reasonable  income 
for  his  family ;  he  had  been  sober,  industrious 
and  thoroughly  honest  in  his  business  meth- 
ods, but  by  degrees  he  found  the  doors  of 
industry  closing  on  him  everywhere.    He  was 

227 


THE  STRUGGLE 


but  one  of  thousands  of  individual  deal- 
ers that  were  being  crushed  to  the  wall.  The 
trusts  had  bought  up  all  the  manufacturing 
plants  of  the  country  and  combined  them.  He 
found  it  impossible  to  buy  goods  at  a  price 
that  would  enable  him  to  compete  in  the  open 
market;  that  these  combinations  owned  and 
controlled  the  manufacturing  plants;  they 
fixed  the  prices  of  all  manufactured  articles 
when  they  came  from  the  factories ;  they  con- 
trolled and  dictated  the  prices  at  which  these 
articles  should  be  sold  to  the  consumer.  He 
made  every  effort  to  overcome  these  condi- 
tions, but  all  in  vain.  Week  after  week  and 
month  after  month  he  discovered  that  he  was 
getting  deeper  and  deeper  in  debt;  he  was 
fully  aware  of  the  fact  that  it  was  only  a  mat- 
ter of  time  when  he  must  and  would  become  a 
bankrupt.  However,  hoping  against  hope 
and  fighting  against  fate,  he  struggled  on, 
he  watched  the  mercantile  reports,  he  saw 
where  hundreds  of  thousands  of  other  inde- 
pendent dealers  were  going  down  beneath  the 
commercial  crash,  he  saw  where  hundreds  and 
thousands  were  selling  their  interest  or  their 
business  at  any  price  that  they  could  get  for 

228 


THE  EFFECT 


it  to  the  trusts  and  the  combines,  and  becom- 
ing employes  of  these  masters,  but  he  could 
not  sell.  He  fought  against  fate  until  he  was 
so  badly  in  debt  that  his  entire  stock  and  hold- 
ings would  not  pay  his  debts.  He  had  re- 
moved his  family  from  the  city  over  into 
Jersey  into  a  small  cotttage  so  as  to  econo- 
mize. He  had  gone  to  his  business  early  and 
remained  late  week  after  week  and  month 
after  month,  fighting  against  these  awful  con- 
ditions, fighting  against  the  fate  that  finally 
awaited  him.  On  this  night  he  remained  late 
at  his  place  of  business,  going  through  his 
books ;  there  all  alone  in  his  office,  going  over 
his  books,  he  saw  his  awful  condition— that 
he  was  a  bankrupt  several  times  over— that  it 
was  a  question  of  only  a  few  days  when  the 
doors  of  his  place  of  business  would  be  closed 
by  the  officers  of  the  law.  He  said  to  himself, 
**Wliat  will  I  do  in  this  great  metropolis! 
Everything  here  is  controlled  by  the  million- 
aires. The  man  at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder 
in  middle  age  in  life  has  no  chance  to  get  to 
the  top.''  He  said  to  himself,  ^^ Things  are 
not  now  as  they  once  were— everything  is  con- 
trolled here  by  the  combines  and  trust  organi- 

229 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


zations,  and  the  individual  dealers  are  all  like 
myself— have  gone  or  are  going  rapidly. 
What  will  I  do  to  support  my  family!  I 
have  no  trade,  I  have  no  property.  What  my 
father  left  me  and  my  business  are  all  gone." 
And  as  he  thought  over  these  things  he 
thought  of  his  true  little  wife  and  his  sweet 
little  children  at  the  fireside  in  the  little  cot- 
tage over  in  Jersey.  He  dropped  his  face  in 
his  hands  and  said,  ^*0h,  God,  what  will  be- 
come of  them!"  Then  in  a  half  stupid,  crazed 
state,  his  mind  staggering  under  his  load,  he 
closed  the  door  to  his  place  of  business  and 
left  his  office  and  started  down  Broadway  to 
the  ferry  boat  for  Jersey.  The  mad  crowd 
was  coming  and  going,  the  whole  city  was 
alive  with  noise,  the  street  cars  were  dashing 
by,  the  elevated  cars  were  coming  and  going 
over  the  elevated  roads,  the  whole  city  was 
alive  with  bustle  and  noise.  No  doubt  some 
of  the  *  *  Captains  of  Finance ' '  on  Wall  Street 
rolled  by  in  their  carriages  on  their  way  to 
their  homes  on  Fifth  Avenue  as  he  passed  on 
his  way  to  the  ferry  boat,  but  he  saw  nobody, 
he  heard  nothing,  his  mind  was  absorbed  with 
his  condition  and  crazed  over  his  affairs.    As 


230 


THE  EFFECT 


he  entered  tlie  ferry  boat  and  she  moved  out 
into  the  Hudson,  he  was  suffering  the  tor- 
tures of  the  damned,  mental  crucifixion  and 
mental  death,  unconsciously  thinking  to  him- 
self, ' '  I  had  rather  be  dead  a  thousand  times 
than  alive  in  this  condition,''  and  somehow, 
somehow,  he  could  not  reason  out  to  himself, 
he  could  not  explain  to  himself  why,  but  as 
the  boat  moved  out  into  the  middle  of  the 
Hudson,  the  mental  impulse  to  end  it  all  over- 
came his  reason  and  overboard  he  went  into 
a  watery  grave.  Next  morning  the  New  York 
papers  simply  had  a  small  story,  that  John 
King  of  Jersey  jumped  from  a  ferry  boat  into 
the  Hudson  and  was  drowned.  The  outside 
world  did  not  know  the  causes  that  produced 
the  tragedy— it  was  a  story  that  the  man  car- 
ried within  his  own  breast.  He  was  the  vic- 
tim of  the  crimes  of  others. 

When  the  sad  news  of  the  tragedies  of  Win- 
ston and  Kinston  and  John  King  reached 
Summer  Hill,  other  troubles  were  hanging 
like  a  cloud  over  the  old  mansion  of  other 
days.  Grace,  the  beautiful  woman,  who  had 
made  the  old  mansion  a  place  of  love  and  joy, 

231 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


was  weeping  witli  tears  and  moaning,  when 
the  news  of  the  tragedy  reached  her. 

Alex  Wilson  had  been  an  industrions  young 
man.  He  had  labored  long,  hard  and  honest- 
ly to  sustain  himself  against  existing  condi- 
tions and  the  final  fate  that  awaited  him.  He 
had  economized  and  labored  hard  to  overcome 
the  financial  rain  and  wreck  that  was  closing 
in  upon  him.  The  tobacco  trust  controlled 
and  dictated  the  prices  of  that  product,  and 
that  was  the  staple  crop  upon  the  plantation 
of  the  Shelton  home.  Each  year  the  price 
for  the  raw  material  was  reduced  and  the 
price  for  everything  that  he  had  to  purchase 
for  consumption  on  the  plantation  was  in- 
creased. Everything  that  he  produced  was 
going  down,  everything  that  he  had  to  pur- 
chase was  going  up.  Under  these  conditions, 
each  year  brought  him  out  deeper  and  deeper 
in  debt.  Hoping  against  hope  and  fighting 
against  fate,  he  persuaded  Grace  to  mortgage 
the  home  that  Col.  Shelton  had  left  her  in  or- 
der to  continue  a  while  longer,  thinking  that 
things  might  change  and  another  year  he 
might  be  able  to  overcome  existing  conditions. 
But  finally  the  wreck  came.    He  found  him- 

232 


TEE  EFFECT 


self  thrice  insolvent— the  home  of  his  wife  ir- 
redeemably gone ;  everything  that  he  had  was 
mortgaged;  everything  that  she  had  was 
mortgaged ;  there  was  no  hope  of  redemption ; 
it  was  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  old 
Shelton  mansion  and  everything  that  he  had 
owned  would  go  at  the  auction  of  the  sheriff's 
sale. 

Night  after  night  Alex  Wilson  rolled  and 
tumbled  upon  his  bed,  thinking  of  these  con- 
ditions. Sleep,  he  could  not;  eat,  he  could 
not ;  life  was  a  living  hell  to  him.  He  thought 
of  his  dear  wife,  and  to  him,  to  see  her  hu- 
miliated with  these  conditions  was  worse  than 
death  itself ;  he  thought  of  his  sweet  and  dear 
children,  and  to  see  them  deprived  of  the 
fruits  of  his  labor  and  of  the  pleasures  of  life 
tore  his  very  heart  strings  asunder.  He  knew 
it  was  only  a  question  of  time  when  they 
would  have  to  leave  the  old  mansion,  that  it, 
with  all  of  its  dear  memories,  would  be  oc- 
cupied by  others.  Day  after  day  and  night 
after  night  these  thoughts  that  were  murder- 
ing him  clung  to  him.  Eid  himself  of  them 
he  could  not.  While  living,  he  was  yet  in  a 
living  hell.     He  strained  every  nerve  to  the 

233 


THE  STRUGGLE 


uttermost  tension  to  conceal  his  thoughts  and 
his  feelings  from  his  dear  wife,  hut  he  could 
not.  She  knew  there  was  something  wrong, 
and  she  knew  the  cause ;  true  woman  as  she 
was,  her  heart  went  out  to  console  him.  **We 
will  get  along  some  way,"  said  she.  '*I 
know  it  is  awful,  hut  we  will  make  the  hest 
of  it  possible."  She  loved  him  still,  but  her 
love  and  devotion  for  him  simply  intensified 
his  living  death,  for  to  be  loved  by  such  a 
woman  and  to  be  living  in  an  age  when  the 
conditions  were  such  that  he  could  not  by 
honest  efforts  and  honest  labor  give  unto  her 
the  comforts  of  life,  was  more  than  death  to 
him.  As  he  strolled  alone  over  the  planta- 
tion and  around  the  barn  yards,  with  his  brain 
pulsating,  beating  and  throbbing  with  mental 
worry  and  mental  death,  he  cried  unto  him- 
self, **0h,  God,  I  had  rather  be  dead  than  to 
be  in  this  condition— what  will  become  of  my 
dear  wife  and  my  dear  children  I"  What 
will  become  of  my  dear  wife  and  my  dear  chil- 
dren? was  the  one  thought  that  made  life 
a  living  hell.  As  for  himself,  he  thought  not 
—he  cared  not,  he  could  stand  anything,  but 
it  was  his  dear  wife  and  children— his  family, 

234 


TEE  EFFECT 


his  family,  what  would  become  of  his  family  % 
—that  was  the  thought  that  ransacked  his 
brain,  that  was  the  thought  that  he  could  not 
rid  himself  of  day  or  night.  His  brain 
pained  him— he  was  living  and  yet  dying,  and 
finally  with  his  brain  throbbing,  aching  and 
paining  until  he  was  no  longer  balanced  or 
realized  what  it  all  meant,  he  said,  ^^Oh,  God, 
what  have  I  done  that  I  should  thus  suffer? 
Why  have  these  conditions  been  forced  upon 
me?  Why  have  I  met  such  a  fateT'  And 
with  these  thoughts  in  his  mind  and  his  brain 
aching  with  torture  and  pain,  he  went  up  into 
his  room  and  closed  the  door ;  there  all  alone 
he  walked  the  floor,  wringing  his  hands  and 
pulling  his  hair  like  a  maniac.  **  Oh,  God,  has 
it  come  to  thisf  he  exclaimed  to  himself  from 
the  depths  of  his  soul.  *'I  will  end  it  all,  I 
will  end  it  all,"  and  then  reaching  into  his 
wardrobe  he  grasped  the  steel  weapon  of 
death,  placed  it  to  his  mouth  and  pulled  the 
trigger.  A  pistol  shot  rang  out  through  the 
old  mansion.  Grace  ran  up  stairs,  excited 
and  screaming,  the  children  following  her. 
As  she  shoved  the  door  open,  there  Alex  lay 
flat  on  his  back  with  the  weapon  of  death 

235 


THE  STRUGGLE 


grasped  in  his  hand  and  his  life 's  blood  oozing 
out  on  the  floor.  It  was  all  over— he  was 
dead. 


236 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  DESERTING  OF   THE   OLD   SHELTON    MANSION 

SOON  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Winston, 
his  wife,  who  was  suffering  with  a 
chronic  case  of  nervous  disease,  passed 
away,  and  there  were  three  orphan  children— 
two  hoys,  Charlie  and  John,  and  a  little  girl, 
Hattie.  The  death  of  Mrs.  Kinston  soon  fol- 
lowed that  of  her  hushand,  caused  from  fever 
and  general  nervous  and  mental  hreakdown. 
There  were  two  orphan  children  in  the  Kins- 
ton  home,  Samuel  and  Euhy.  Mrs.  King 
worried  over  the  death  of  her  husband  until 
she  was  a  physical  wreck.  She  contracted 
pneumonia,  and  her  general  physical  condi- 
tion was  such  that  she  died.  Two  orphan 
children  were  left  in  the  King  home,  Morris 
and  Emma  Belle. 

Grace  took  all  of  the  children  of  her  three 
sisters  to  the  old  Shelton  home  to  raise.  She 
had  two  of  her  own,  Linton  and  Laura.    She 

237 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


knew  that  they  could  not  remain  long  at  the 
old  Shelton  mansion ;  she  knew  the  mortgage 
on  it  was  being  foreclosed ;  the  sheriff  would 
soon  be  in  charge.  But  she  had  courage. 
She  was  determined  somehow  and  in  some 
way  and  somewhere  to  raise  and  care  for 
these  children.  It  was  a  gloomy  spirit  at 
Summer  Hill— the  mansion  of  former  days 
had  lost  its  life.  It  was  once  the  place  of  hos- 
pitality and  a  representative  home  of  a  great 
civilization;  a  home  where  there  was  plenty, 
and  an  open  door  was  extended  to  all ;  a  home 
over  which  a  true  American  citizen  presided, 
and  whose  family  commanded  the  respect  of 
alL  In  other  days  it  was  an  ideal  home  of 
an  ideal  citizen  of  an  ideal  republic.  But 
now  it  had  changed.  The  old  mansion  had 
become  dilapidated,  the  out  houses  were  di- 
lapidated, the  farm  loooked  deserted,  every- 
thing everywhere  seemed  to  be  in  a  state  of 
decay.  The  old  mansion  showed  signs  of 
former  days  of  prosperity,  but  now  the  signs 
of  decay  and  poverty.  Everything  had  un- 
dergone a  change,  things  were  not  what  they 
once  were.  Finally  the  old  mansion,  the  farm 
and  all  were  sold  at  sheriff's  sale,  and  it  was 

238 


THE  DESERTING  OF  THE  MANSION 

the  duty  of  the  slieriiff  to  place  the  purchaser 
in  possession.  It  was  a  sad  duty  for  him  to 
perform.  He  had  known  the  family  in  other 
days ;  but  it  was  his  duty  and  he  must  do  it. 
He  went  about  it  gently  and  tenderly.  On 
that  day,  the  near  and  dear  friends  of  the 
Shelton  family  came  to  say  good-bye,  for 
Grace  had  made  her  arrangements  to  move 
to  Cincinnati  to  open  an  art  gallery  and  con- 
servatory of  music  combined,  so  as  to  use  her 
talents  in  these  lines  to  suppport  and  raise 
the  children.  This  was  the  only  thing  that 
was  left  for  her  to  do.  She  had  arranged  all 
of  her  affairs  and  was  ready  to  go,  ready  to 
turn  over  the  old  mansion,  the  home  of  her 
father,  the  home  of  her  childhood  days,  to 
others.  Her  friends  around  Summer  Hill 
and  Eocktite  were  there  to  say  ** good-bye.'* 
Tears  were  in  many  eyes  and  sorrow  in  many 
hearts.  It  was  a  sad  scene  to  all.  Captain 
Bell,  the  old  family  friend,  was  there.  Age 
was  telling  its  story  upon  him ;  his  walk  was 
uncertain  and  feeble.  The  once  stately  and 
firm  step  of  the  old  man  was  weak  and  ner- 
vous; his  shoulders  were  bent  and  more 
stooped  than  ever;  his  hands  were  nervous 

239 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


and  his  body  quivered  with  nervousness  and 
weakness,  yet  his  mind  was  clear.  When  his 
soul  was  aroused  with  indignation,  his  eyes 
had  the  fire  of  other  days.  As  one  by  one 
the  old  friends  and  neighbors  told  Grace  and 
the  children  ** good-bye,''  tears  were  in  the 
eyes  of  every  one;  there  was  not  a  dry  eye, 
but  every  heart  was  throbbing  with  sorrow 
and  every  eye  shedding  tears.  When  all  had 
told  Grace  and  the  children  *^ good-bye,"  si- 
lence and  sorrow  prevailed  everywhere. 
When  no  one  seemed  to  know  what  to  say  or 
what  to  do  next,  when  the  spirit  of  sorrow 
seemed  to  be  hovering  over  the  old  mansion, 
when  gloom  and  sorrow  seemed  to  reign 
everywhere.  Captain  Bell,  standing  to  one  side 
in  the  room,  where  the  friends  had  gathered, 
leaning  on  his  cane,  stepped  the  best  he 
could  with  his  weak  and  uncertain  step  to  the 
front  of  where  the  friends  stood.  With  tears 
in  his  eyes,  his  face  burning  and  flashing  with 
the  fire  of  his  indignant  soul,  his  whole  na- 
ture was  aroused,  the  spirit  of  other  days  had 
reasserted  itself  within  him.  ** Friends," 
said  he,  **this  is  a  pitiful  scene.  I  remember 
the  days  when  things  were  different  here, 

240 


THE  DESERTING  OF  TEE  MANSION 

when  prosperity  dwelt  within  this  home,  when 
this  mansion  was  the  home  of  a  happy  and 
prosperous  family.  I  remember  the  days 
when  this  home  was  a  representative  home  of 
a  representative  American  citizen,  the  days 
when  no  home  in  this  land  surpassed  this 
home  for  hospitality  and  generosity.  I  re- 
member the  days  when  this  home,  like  the 
home  of  the  rest  of  our  people,  was  prosper- 
ous. The  family  that  dwelt  here  was  like  the 
families  that  dwell  in  the  rest  of  our  homes, 
happy  and  contented.  But  what  a  change, 
what  a  change!  And  we  know,  my  friends, 
what  brought  about  this  change;  we  know 
what  has  destroyed  this  home— has  destroyed 
the  homes  throughout  this  land ;  we  know  what 
the  conditions  were  that  brought  about  the 
acts  of  those  who  dwelt  here;  we  know  that 
they  are  the  victims  of  conditions  that  they 
could  not  help ;  we  know  that  they  have  done 
their  best  and  have  been  crushed  by  the 
greed  of  others,  as  has  been  the  case  through- 
out the  land.  It  is  a  sad,  a  sad  sight  indeed. 
But  let  us  have  courage,  let  us  have  hope;— 
one  of  the  greatest  men  this  country  ever  pro- 
duced, Mr.  Clay,  said  to  the  people  of  this 

241 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


state  in  his  farewell  address,  that  he  had  faith 
in  the  American  people,  faith  in  their  ability 
and  their  patriotism  to  solve  every  problem 
that  the  future  might  present.  He  said  that 
he  had  an  abiding  faith  in  the  people  of  this 
republic  to  solve  every  problem  and  every 
issue,  and  that  the  republic  would  live.  Let 
us  take  new  courage  today  from  his  farewell 
words.  Let  us  believe  that  there  is  a  brighter 
day  coming,  let  us  believe  that  the  people  yet 
have  patriotism  enough  to  crush  out  the 
wrongs  that  caused  these  conditions.  I,  for 
one,  believe  that  the  descendants  of  the  men 
who  bled  and  died  at  Valley  Forge,  who 
marched  to  the  drum  beat  and  kept  step  with 
the  music  of  war  and  faced  the  carnage  and 
blood  and  death  at  Lexington,  who  fought  and 
died  at  Guilford  Court  House  and  Yorktown, 
have  patriotism  enough  to  save  this  republic 
and  to  restore  it  to  the  reign  of  the  people.  I 
will  not  be  here  to  see  it— my  days  are  num- 
bered. I  soon  will  be  gone  to  join  those  who 
have  gone  before  me  from  among  us;  yet  I 
have  faith,  I  have  hope;  I  have  faith  in  the 
ability  and  the  patriotism  in  this  and  the 
coming  generations  to  destroy  these  wrongs 

242 


THE  DESERTING  OF  TEE  MANSION 


and  to  restore  the  republic  to  a  land  of  homes 
and  prosperity." 

All  departed,  feeling  the  solemnity  of  the 
occasion.  There  was  sadness  in  the  very 
atmosphere  around  Summer  Hill  and  Rock- 
tite.  The  Shelton  home  was  lost— the  Shel- 
ton  family  was  gone. 

Grace  took  the  children,  noble  and  true 
woman  as  she  was,  determined  to  care  and 
provide  for  them.  She  assumed  the  respon- 
sibility of  caring  for  and  raising  them.  It 
was  a  great  undertaking;  she  had  no  money, 
no  means,  no  way  by  which  to  care  for  these 
orphan  children  except  her  determination— 
her  will— her  spirit.  That  spirit  was  all  pow- 
erful ;  it  was  the  same  spirit  that  had  been  the 
animating  force  of  her  beautiful  form  and 
had  given  vitality  to  her  in  days  passed  when 
she  was  the  most  beautiful  woman  of  *'01d 
Kentucky."  Her  cheeks  were  not  as  rosy 
now  as  they  were  once,  her  form  was  not  as 
plump  as  it  had  been  in  other  days,  her  eyes 
did  not  have  the  quickening  flash  as  they  did 
in  days  gone  by  and  her  face  carried  the  ex- 
pression of  trouble  rather  than  the  magnetic 
smile  that  drew  everyone   to  her   in   days 

243 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


passed.  Yet  the  same  spirit  of  other  days 
gave  force  to  her  life ;  she  was  the  same  true 
woman.  She  had  no  other  resources  out  of 
which  to  support  and  care  for  the  children  ex- 
cept her  knowledge  of  art  and  music.  She 
opened  an  art  gallery  and  conservatory  of 
music  on  Elm  Street,  in  Cincinnati,— com- 
bined the  two  in  one,  for  she  had  to  bring  into 
play  all  of  her  talents  in  this  time  of  emer- 
gency, and  through  her  energy  and  talents  she 
soon  had  some  of  the  best  people  in  the  city 
for  her  patrons.  She  rented  enough  rooms,  so 
as  to  have  rooms  on  the  same  floor  of  her  place 
of  business  in  which  to  live.  Day  after  day, 
as  the  rushing  masses  went  rubbing,  pushing 
and  shoving  by,  grasping  for  dollars,  there 
were  strains  of  the  music  which  vibrated  out 
from  her  rooms  into  the  cold  commercial  air 
of  these  mad  men  rushing  for  dollars  that 
touched  their  stony  commercial  hearts,  strains 
of  music  that  made  them  think  of  the  better 
things  of  life  and  the  better  life.  The  spirit 
of  Grace  Shelton  was  there,  and  her  spirit 
spoke  to  these  stony  commercial  souls 
through  the  music  that  vibrated  out  from  her 
spirit  and  touched  and  played  upon  theirs. 

244 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE  DEMOCRATIC   CONVENTION  OF   NORTH 

CAROLINA 

AS  time  passed,  month  after  month  and 
year  after  year,  things  grew  worse  and 
worse,  the  burdens  of  the  people  grew 
heavier  and  heavier,  the  masses  grew  poorer 
and  poorer,  and  the  corporations  and  the 
trusts  and  the  classes  richer  and  richer.  Be- 
neath it  all  a  great  irresistible  current  was 
collecting  that  must  burst  asunder  these  con- 
ditions somehow  and  somewhere.  A  great 
irresistible  force  was  gathering  that  must 
break  loose  somewhere.  A  latent  and 
yet  potential  force  was  stored  away  in 
the  hearts  and  the  wills  of  the  people 
that  in  the  end  must  break  asunder  existing 
conditions.  Such  were  the  conditions  through- 
out the  Union  when  the  State  Democratic 
Convention  met  in  North  Carolina.  There 
was  something  in  the  very  atmosphere  that 

245 


THE  STRUGGLE 


bid  defiance  to  existing  conditions.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  delegates  who  came  from  every 
section  of  the  State  on  each  incoming  train, 
had  defiance  written  on  their  faces.  They 
were  there  for  a  purpose;  the  *^ Special"  and 
** General  Agents"  and  ** Advisory  Counsels" 
fully  realized  what  was  this  purpose  and  they 
were  there  to  defeat  this  purpose ;  they  were 
there  to  meet  the  irresistible  and  to  turn  its 
course  if  possible.  They  consulted,  they  ad- 
vised, they  laid  plans,  for  they  realized  that 
it  was  a  fight  unto  death.  They  had  their 
representatives  from  all  parts  of  the  State  on 
the  delegation,  and  although  they  were  in  the 
minority  they  hoped  by  schemes  and  plans  to 
defeat  the  will  of  the  majority  and  the  will  of 
the  people.  These  men  were  trained  and 
drilled  in  the  way  of  controlling  political  con- 
ventions and  by  this  means  they  were  con- 
fident that  they  could  defeat  the  will  of  the 
majority.  What  did  they  care  for  the  will 
of  the  people!  What  did  they  care  for  the 
Democratic  party?  They  were  there  to  do 
the  will  of  their  masters,  they  were  there  to 
defeat  the  will  of  the  people  and  to  continue 
the  galling  yoke  of  oppression  upon  them. 

246 


TEE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 

They  had  no  politics,  they  had  no  party,  they 
had  no  principles  except  to  serve  the  will  of 
their  masters. 

At  the  proper  hour  next  day,  the  conven- 
tion was  called  to  order  by  the  Hon.  Thos. 
Jones,  chairman  of  the  State  Executive  Com- 
mittee, and  the  usual  temporary  organization 
was  perfected,  after  which  the  Hon.  Bruce 
Light  was  elected  permanent  chairman.  This 
was  the  first  victory  for  the  representatives 
of  the  people.  The  ** Special"  and  *^ General 
Agents"  and  '^Advisory  Counsels"  had  all 
been  against  the  Hon.  Mr.  Light,  for  they 
knew  that  they  could  not  control  him.  His 
record  in  the  State  Senate  had  been  against 
them ;  he  was  young,  vigorous,  brainy  and  de- 
termined and  he  had  character  and  a  con- 
science. They  did  not  want  him ;  they  moved 
every  power  to  defeat  him,  but  the  votes  of 
the  people's  representatives  swept  him  in  as 
chairman  of  the  convention.  And  when  the 
*^ Special"  and  ''General  Agents"  and  ''Ad- 
visory Counsels,"  who  were  delegates,  began 
to  make  motions  and  resort  to  their  tricks  to 
defeat  the  will  of  the  people,  he  ruled  with  an 
iron  hand.    **The  gentleman  is  out  of  order 

247 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


V 


and  will  take  his  seat/'  declared  the  chair. 
**This  convention  is  here  for  business,"  said 
he;  *4ake  your  seaf  Every  trick  and 
scheme  was  resorted  to  by  the  tricksters,  hut 
the  chair  ruled  with  an  iron  hand.  * '  The  will 
of  the  people,  as  long  as  I  am  chairman  of 
this  convention,  shall  not  he  defeated  here, 
and  those  who  are  here  to  defeat  the  will  of 
the  people  had  as  well  understand  it  now," 
said  he.  They  resorted  to  every  trick  and 
scheme  to  pack  the  committee  on  resolutions, 
but  the  chair  appointed  the  Hon.  Wm.  Fitchen  '  ,.  ^  Jv 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  resolutions. 
Mr.  Fitchen  was  known  to  be  a  man  of  high 
integrity,  high  purposes  in  life,  and  while 
modest,  yet  brave,  and  because  of  his  high  in- 
tegrity and  his  great  sympathy  for  the  masses, 
the  people  of  his  district  had  honored  him 
with  several  terms  in  Congress.  His  appoint- 
ment as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  reso- 
lutions made  things  look  dark  for  the  trick- 
sters ;  they  knew  that  Billy  Fitchen  had  con- 
victions. The  committee  remained  out  all  the 
afternoon.  The  convention  went  as  far  with 
its  business  as  it  could  without  the  report  of 
the  committee  on  resolutions,  and  had  to  ad- 

248 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 

joum.  The  news  reached  the  convention  hall 
that  a  great  fight  was  going  on  in  the  commit- 
tee room.  The  committee  had  remained  out 
all  night.  When  the  convention  met  next 
morning  the  committee  was  still  out,  and  the 
convention  adjourned  until  eleven  o'clock. 
By  this  time  the  news  had  spread  throughout 
the  city  that  a  great  contest  was  being  fought 
out  in  the  committee  on  resolutions.  The  news 
had  been  telegraphed  throughout  the  State 
and  the  daily  press  was  making  it  a  great 
sensation.  When  the  convention  reassembled 
at  eleven,  the  committee  was  still  out  and  the 
chairman  appointed  a  special  committee  to 
ascertain  and  report  to  the  convention  when 
the  committee  on  resolutions  would  be  ready 
to  report.  The  special  committee  reported 
back  to  the  convention  that  the  committee  on 
resolutions  would  probably  be  ready  to  re- 
port at  one  o'clock,  and  the  convention  ad- 
journed until  that  hour.  When  the  conven- 
tion reassembled  at  one  o'clock,  the  commit- 
tee on  resolutions  filed  in.  Their  eyes  were 
red,  their  hair  was  turned  and  tossed  and 
tangled,  they  looked  worn,  sleepy,  tired  and 
jaded.    It  was  evident  that  a  great  contest 

249 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


had  been  waged  in  the  committee  room  all 
night  long.  Billy  Fitchen  and  his  followers 
looked  like  men  who  had  been  fighting  for 
principle,  and  the  *  tricksters ' '  on  the  com- 
mittee looked  like  men  who  had  been  fighting 
to  defeat  principle  and  had  lost.  Every  seat, 
every  aisle,  every  gallery,  every  window  in 
the  convention  hall  of  the  capitol  of  the  *  *  Old 
North  State''  was  filled,  packed  and 
jammed;  the  fairest  women  and  the  best 
men  of  the  commonwealth  were  there.  All 
were  confident  that  a  great  battle  was  to  be 
fought. 

**Is  the  committee  on  resolutions  ready  to 
reports'  asked  the  chair.  Billy  Fitchen, 
measuring  six  feet  high,  with  his  black  hair 
turned  and  tossed  over  his  large  and  well- 
rounded  head,  and  with  his  sympathetic  eyes 
flashing  with  fire  and  his  voice  ringing  out 
with  as  much  earnestness  as  when  attending 
a  prayer  meeting  at  the  Baptist  Church  in  his 
little  home  town,  arose  in  front  of  the  commit- 
tee and  said:  '*Mr.  Chairman,  the  commit- 
tee has  been  unable  to  agree,  but  I  beg  to  read 
the  report  of  the  majority,  after  which  the 
report  of  the  minority  will  be  read.''    **The 

250 


TEE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 

Chairman    recognizes    the    gentleman    from 
Personel  County,"  said  the  Chair.     Where- 
upon the  Hon.  Billy  Fitchen  began  to  read: 
**The  Democracy   of  this   State  renews   its 
faith  in  the  rights  of  the  people  and  declares 
its  belief  in  the  supremacy  of  the  people,  in 
law  and  in   order,   recognizes   the   existing 
wrongs  that  are  robbing  and  plundering  our 
people,  it  declares  every  corporation,  trust 
and  combine  that  is  being  operated  to  destroy 
the  laws  of  competition,  supply  and  demand, 
to  be  in  violation  of  the  rights  of  organized 
society,  and  the  men  who  own  and  control 
them  to  be  criminals,  and  violators  of  both 
the  law  of  God  and  of  man.     The  Democracy 
of  this  State,  in  convention  assembled,  demand 
such  legislation  as  will  destroy  these  institu- 
tions and  punish  the  men  who  own  and  control 
and  operate  them,  as  criminals  against  or- 
ganized society,  and  felons  against  the  laws  of 
this   commonwealth.    We   declare,   uncondi- 
tionally our  faith  in  the  time  honored  doc- 
trine of  Hhe  consent  of  the  governed,'  and 
that  all  laws  and  that  all  governments  should 
be  instituted  and  operated  for  the  protection 
of  the  people  and  to  prevent  the  strong  from 

251 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


oppressing  the  weak.  We  unhesitatingly  and 
unconditionally  do  hereby  declare  that  the 
combinations  of  wealth  and  trust  combines 
that  oppress  the  weak  and  collect  in  the  mill- 
ions produced  by  the  toiling  masses  are 
plundering  and  robbing  society,  and  the  men 
who  operate  and  control  these  institutions  to 
be  criminals ;  and  the  Democracy  of  this  State 
promises  the  people  that  it  will  wage  relent- 
less warfare  upon  these  criminals  and  these 
institutions  until  such  laws  are  enacted  and 
placed  upon  our  statute  books  as  will  punish 
the  criminals  and  drive  the  operation  of  their 
institutions  from  the  confines  of  this  common- 
wealth, ' '  etc.  As  Billy  Fitchen  concluded  the 
last  sentence  of  the  majority  report,  his  voice 
rang  out  with  the  earnestness  of  a  Crusader, 
and  the  applause  went  up  throughout  the  con- 
vention hall. 

When  Mr.  Fitchen  had  resumed  his  seat, 
the  Hon.  Sam  Williams,  an  unknown  ^*  Advis- 
ory Counsel"  for  the  International  Amalga- 
mated Tobacco  Co.,  arose  and  began  to  read 
the  minority  report.  It  contained  the  usual 
platitudes  that  the  Democracy  of  the  State 
renews  its  faith  to  the  '*  principles  of  the 

252 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 

Fathers''  and  congratulates  the  people  upon 
the  prosperity  of  the  commonwealth  and  the 
law  as  administered  by  Democracy,"  etc. 
When  Mr.  Williams  had  completed  reading 
the  minority  report,  the  chairman  announced 
that  the  majority  report  would  have  the  open- 
ing and  conclusion  in  the  discussion  on  the 
resolutions,  and  it  was  announced  that  Billy 
Fitchen  would  conclude  for  the  majority  and 
Samuel  Williams  for  the  minority.  After  sev- 
eral brief  speeches  from  various  members  of 
the  majority  and  minority  of  the  committee, 
the  Hon.  Samuel  Williams  took  the  platform. 
He  pleaded  for  the  party  to  be  conservative, 
that  the  State  was  prospering,  that  there 
was  more  accumulated  wealth  and  larger  man- 
ufacturing institutions  had  been  established 
in  the  last  decade  than  ever  before  in  the  same 
length  of  time.  He  contended  that  if  the 
majority  report  was  adopted,  it  would  put  the 
Democratic  party  of  the  State  under  the  ban 
of  the  business  interests  of  the  country.  He 
pleaded  for  conservatism  rather  than  radical- 
ism. When  he  had  concluded  his  speech  of 
platitudes  and  sophistry  and  resumed  his  seat, 
Billy  Fitchen  arose  to  conclude  for  the  ma- 

253 


Mb 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


jority.  His  long  black  hair  was  tossed  hither 
and  thither,  his  eyes  flashed  with  earnestness 
and  his  voice  trembled  with  the  ring  of  sin- 
cerity and  his  face  was  aroused  with  emotion. 
He  was  a  living,  real  picture  of  an  honest  man 
that  was  willing  to  risk  all  and  to  die  for  an 
honest  conviction.  The  earnestness  of  his 
face  and  the  flash  of  his  eyes  silenced  the 
audience.  Not  a  murmur  could  be  heard  in 
the  great  hall,  silence  reigned  everywhere,  all 
seemed  to  realize  that  a  great  issue  was  to  be 
fought  out  and  that  the  man  was  in  earnest 
and  had  a  message  for  the  people.  **Mr. 
Chairman,"  he  began,  *^we  stand  on  sacred 
ground,  on  the  soil  where  the  first  lamp  of 
liberty  burned  on  this  continent,  the  soil  that 
produced  the  men  that  gave  to  the  world  the 
'Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence,' 
the  soil  that  produced  the  patriots  that  bled 
and  died  at  King's  Mountain,  Guilford  Court 
House  and  Alamance  that  a  new  republic 
might  be  born  and  freedom  and  justice  might 
go  marching  on  among  men  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  We  stand  on  the  soil  made  illustrious 
and  sacred  by  the  names  of  a  Morehead,  a 
Clingman,  a  Nash,  a  Mangum,  a  Graham  and 

254 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 

a  Vance.  On  the  soil  of  this  old  common- 
wealth some  of  the  most  glorious  deeds  of  this 
republic  have  played  their  drama.  Her  im- 
mortal sons  in  the  days  passed  have  been 
some  of  the  brightest  stars  in  the  political 
firmament  of  this  Union. 

*^Let  us  to-day  reconsecrate  this  sacred  soil, 
this  glorious  old  commonwealth  anew,  to  lib- 
erty, justice  and  human  freedom.  Let  us  as 
patriots  do  our  full  duty.  There  was  a  time 
when  a  happy  and  prosperous  people  dwelt 
within  the  borders  of  this  good  old  common- 
wealth, a  people  and  a  civilization  that  bid 
defiance  to  all  the  races  and  civilizations  of 
the  ages,  a  people  that  was  industrious  and 
prosperous,  happy  and  contented,  a  people 
that  loved  virtue,  honor,  home,  country  and 
God.  Where  are  these  happy  and  prosperous 
homes  that  once  covered  this  commonwealth 
from  the  seashores  to  the  mountain  tops? 
Where  are  these  mansions  that  were  the  pride 
of  the  plantations  of  other  days?  They  are 
gone— they  are  deserted.  In  other  days  men 
were  patriots  and  freemen ;  to-day  their  chil- 
dren are  industrial  slaves  and  serfs,  toiling  in 
the  sweat  shops  of  trusts  and  combines  that 

255 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


are  plundering  onr  people.  Where  are  the 
churches  to  which  our  fathers  went  in  other 
days  to  worship  when  they  were  freemen? 
They  are  dilapidated  and  deserted  and  gone. 
Where  are  the  school  houses  in  which  our 
fathers  were  educated  as  to  the  duties  of  a  cit- 
izen to  his  home,  his  country  and  his  God? 
They  are  deserted  and  gone.  We  have  passed 
from  a  happy  and  contented  civilization,  from 
the  days  of  freemen  to  the  days  of  industrial 
serfdom  and  slavery.  There  is  not  a  man  on 
this  continent,  Mr.  Chairman,  but  what  knows 
the  cause,  knows  the  reason  for  this  change  in 
our  civilization,  for  these  wrongs  wrought 
against  our  homes,  our  families  and  our  chil- 
dren. The  trusts  have  this  commonwealth  by 
the  throat.  They  name  the  prices  on  what 
the  people  produce  and  make  us  sell  it  to  them 
at  what  they  are  willing  to  give  us  for  it,  and 
they  name  the  prices  on  what  our  people  con- 
sume and  make  us  pay  them  what  they  please 
for  what  we  consume.  The  tobacco  industry 
in  days  gone  by  was  a  prosperous  business  to 
our  planters.  By  honest  labor  and  honest 
effort  they  made  it  a  staple  and  prosperous 
industry.    Yet  there  was  raised  upon  the  soil 

256 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 

of  this  State  a  man  who  loved  dollars  more 
than  patriotism,  who  loved  dollars  more  than 
humanity,  who  loved  dollars  more  than 
the  rights  of  others.  He  went  forth  from 
his  native  State,  he  repudiated  the  soil  of  his 
birth,  the  citizenship  of  his  native  common- 
wealth, and  organized  the  tobacco  trust  that 
to-day  controls  the  output  of  that  product. 
John  Fukelow  controls  the  International 
Amalgamated  Tobacco  Co.,  and  the  Inter- 
national Amalgamated  Tobacco  Co.  con- 
trols the  tobacco  market  of  the  world 
and  holds  the  farmers  throughout  this 
land,  who  produce  that  staple  product,  at 
its  mercy.  He  has  driven,  by  his  combina- 
tion, the  individual  dealer  and  the  individual 
manufacturer  out  of  business.  He  has  left 
the  producer  without  any  competition  for 
what  he  produces.  He  has  reduced  thousands 
of  farmers  of  this  commonwealth  to  pauper- 
ism. He  has  driven  them  and  their  families 
from  their  homes  into  sweat  shops  and  fac- 
tories to  become  his  industrial  vassals.  He 
has  crushed  the  civilization  in  this  historic 
old  commonwealth  that  was  illustrious  and 
immortal  for  honor,  for  industry  and  virtue. 

257 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


While  he  and  his  associates  in  his  comhines 
have  grown  richer  and  richer  and  collected  in 
their  millions,  the  masses  of  our  people  have 
grown  poorer  and  poorer  and  our  civilization 
has  been  crushed.  What  is  true  of  the  Inter- 
national Amalgamated  Tobacco  Co.  is  true  of 
every  trust  and  combine  in  this  land.  Their 
*  Special  Agents'  and  *  General  Agents'  and 
'Advisory  Counsels'  have  controlled  this 
State.  They  have  made  and  unmade  our 
laws.  They  have  made  and  unmade  our  leg- 
islators. They  have  owned  and  controlled 
this  State,  and  what  is  true  as  to  this  historic 
old  commonwealth  is  true  as  to  every  com- 
monwealth in  this  Union.  They  have  their 
hirelings  and  their  paid  lobbyists  in  this  con- 
vention to-day,  they  have  them  here  now,  they 
had  them  on  the  committee  that  was  to  frame 
a  platform  for  the  Democracy  of  this  State, 
they  are  here  to  defeat  the  will  of  the  people 
and  to  foster  these  institutions  that  are  crush- 
ing our  civilization  and  the  best  manhood  that 
the  world  has  ever  known.  They  say  we  must 
be  conservative.  We  answer  by  saying  that 
the  Fathers  at  Lexington,  at  Valley  Forge, 
at  Guilford  Court  House  and  at  Yorktown 

258 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 

were  not  conservative.  A  great  principle  was 
involved,  free  institutions  were  involved,  the 
right  of  the  greatest  race  that  the  world  has 
ever  produced  to  govern  itself  was  involved. 
The  issue  to-day,  my  countrymen,  is  as  great 
as  it  was  then.  The  question  is:  Shall  our 
free  institutions  live,  shall  law  and  order  pre- 
vail in  this  commonwealth  and  in  this  Union, 
shall  we  have  a  government  that  rests  on  the 
consent  of  the  governed,  shall  we  have  a  coun- 
try composed  of  industrious,  happy  and  pros- 
perous citizens,  protected  in  the  pursuit  of 
happiness,  prosperity  and  in  their  individual 
rights  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  law,  or  shall 
we  have  a  government  controlled  and 
operated  by  a  few  organized  plunderers  of 
organized  society,  controlled  by  men  who 
regard  neither  the  rights  of  men  nor  the  laws 
of  God,  controlled  by  men  who  have  no  sym- 
pathy for  struggling  humanity,  the  widow 
and  the  orphan,  controlled  by  men  who  put 
the  dollar  above  human  flesh  and  blood?  I 
say  to  you,  my  fellow  citizens,  I  say  to  the 
gentlemen  who  oppose  the  report  of  the  ma- 
jority of  this  convention  that  if  these  views 
are  to  prevail,  if  these  wrongs  against  or- 

259 


THE  STRUGGLE 


ganized  society  are  to  continue,  then  this  re- 
public is  on  its  way  to  final  decay  and  ruin, 
that  it  will  go  the  way  that  all  republics  have 
gone  before,  and  that  free  institutions  and  the 
right  of  a  people  to  govern  themselves  will  be 
pronounced  a  failure  by  every  crowned  head, 
monarch  and  despot  that  now  oppress  the 
millions  in  every  clime.  I  say,  my  fellow  citi- 
zens, that  we  owe  a  duty  to  ourselves,  a  duty 
to  the  coming  generations  to  restore  law  and 
order  in  this  land,  to  crush  out  these  organized 
plunderers,  these  criminals  against  society. 
You  owe  this  duty,  my  fellow  citizens,  to 
yourselves,  you  owe  it  to  your  country,  you 
owe  it  to  the  oppressed  millions  in  every  clime 
that  are  looking,  looking,  looking  to  the  in- 
fluence of  this  republic  as  a  final  triumph  of 
free  institutions  that  will  yet  free  the  world. ' ' 
At  this  point,  while  every  ear  was  listening 
and  a  great  audience  was  moved  to  the  ut- 
most tension,  a  telegram  was  passed  down  the 
aisle  to  the  Speaker's  desk  and  handed  by 
the  chairman  to  Mr.  Pitchen.  With  the  pers- 
piration pouring  off  his  face,  his  eyes  flashing 
with  the  fire  of  the  Crusader,  he  halted  just 
for  a  moment,  tore  it  open  and  read  the  tele- 

260 


TEE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 

gram.  It  was  from  the  Hon.  Thomas  Hinton, 
congressman  from  California.  He  and  Mr. 
Fitchen  had  become  personal  friends  in  con- 
gress, both  had  similar  views  on  the  trust 
question,  both  were  men  of  integrity  and 
patriotism.  As  Billy  read  it,  his  face  lighted 
up  with  hope  and  inspiration.  He  then  raised 
the  telegram  high  in  his  right  hand  and  wav- 
ing it  exclaimed,  ''Fellow  citizens  here  is  a 
message  to  the  Democracy  of  this  state,— 
listen'*— and  then  he  read: 

"San  Francisco,  Cal., 

"Hon.  Wm.  Fitchen, 
"Ealeigh,  N.  C. 
"Care  of  Democratic  Convention. 

"My  Dear  Mr.  Fitchen:  — 

"The  Democracy  of  this  state  has  just 
passed  resolutions  in  its  platform  declaring 
unconditionally  that  the  organized  trusts  are 
plunderers  of  society  and  their  owners  and 
controllers  criminals  against  society,  declar- 
ing that  the  party  will  wage  relentless  war 
until  they  are  driven  from  the  confines  of  this 
state."  Then  waving  the  telegram  in  his 
right  hand,  he  exclaimed,  "Here  is  a  message 

261 


THE  STRUGGLE 


from  the  Democracy  of  the  great  common- 
wealth of  California  to  the  Democracy  of  this 
historic  old  state.  Let  ns  be  as  patriotic  as 
our  fellow  Democrats  on  the  other  side  of 
the  continent;  let  ns  send  onr  greetings  to 
onr  fellow  citizens  everywhere  in  this  Union 
that  the  patriots  of  this  state  are  determined 
that  these  criminals  against  organized  society 
shall  be  declared  criminals  and  driven  from 
this  commonwealth.  Let  us,  fellow  citizens,  do 
our  full  duty  to  ourselves,  to  our  children,  to 
the  coming  generations,  to  our  country  and  to 
our  God.  This  is  an  hour  that  is  calling  for 
men,  calling  for  patriots,  calling  for  heroes 
that  are  willing  to  be  sacrificed  for  truth's 
sake  and  for  principle.  I  say  to  you  that 
every  trust  that  is  operating  in  this  state  is 
plundering  our  people;  I  say  to  you  that  the 
men  who  own  and  control  them  are 
criminals  against  society;  I  say  to  you 
that  the  one  man,  Jas.  Fukelow,  pres- 
ident of  the  International  Amalgamated 
Tobacco  Co.,  has  done  more  to  wreck 
and  destroy  the  happiness  of  this  common- 
wealth than  all  the  petty  criminals  the 
state  has  ever  produced;  I  say  to  you  that 

262 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 


he  is  the  cause  of  thousands  of  homes  hav- 
ing been  deserted  in  this  commonwealth,  that 
he  has  caused  poverty  to  reign  where  pros- 
perity once  dwelt,  that  he  has  destroyed  the 
happiness  and  contentment  in  the  homes  of 
thousands  of  the  people  in  this  state,  that 
he  has  helped  to  destroy  a  great  civiliza- 
tion and  to  plant  in  its  stead  a  civilization 
that  in  the  end  means  the  destruction  of  free 
institutions.     Let  us  say  to  the  people  of 
this  state  that  these  wrongs  must  end,  let  this 
state  say  to  the  other  commonwealths  of  this 
Union  that  we  are  willing  to  do  our  duty  in 
restoring  this  republic  to  the  reign  of  the 
people.    Let  us  crush  out  these  wrongs,  let 
us  reconsecrate  ourselves  to  liberty  and  this 
great  commonwealth  to  liberty,  justice  and 
right,  as  honest  men.    As  freemen,  as  patriots, 
I  declare  to  you  to-day  in  the  presence  of 
almighty  God,  we  cannot  afford  to  do  less. 
Let  the  Democracy  of  this  state,  in  the  name 
of  right,  in  the  name  of  justice,  in  the  name 
of  liberty,  for  humanity's  sake  and  in  the 
name  of  almighty  God,  adopt  this  platform 
written  by  these  honest  men,  these  men  who 
love  this  state,  who  love  our  people,  who 

263 


TEE  NEXT  MEETING 


love  liberty  and  who  love  freedom,  and  send 
the  great  tidings  to  patriots  everywhere  in 
this  broad  republic,  that  we  are  willing  to 
join  in  relentless  war  against  these  criminals 
and  their  crimes  and  to  restore  this  Union 
to  the  reign  of  the  people,  law,  order  and 
justice  and  that  right  and  justice  shall  reign 
with  our  people.''  As  Mr.  Fitchen  concluded 
and  the  last  sentence  of  his  speech  echoed 
through  the  old  convention  hall  and  men  and 
women  relaxed  from  the  tension  in  which 
they  had  been  held,  they  rallied  to  their  feet, 
men  throwing  their  hats  up  to  the  galleries 
and  yelling  like  madmen  and  the  ladies 
everywhere  in  the  hall  waving  their  hand- 
kerchiefs and  clapping  their  hands— pande- 
monium reigned  everywhere;  the  ** Special 
Agents"  and  ** General  Agents"  and  *^ Ad- 
visory Counsels,"  who  were  scattered 
through  the  convention  hall,  looked  astounded, 
they  couldn't  account  for  the  great  response 
from  the  audience.  When  the  yelling  and 
whooping  by  the  men,  the  clapping  of  hands 
by  the  ladies,  the  throwing  of  hats  and  toss- 
ing of  handkerchiefs  and  the  stampede  had 
sufficiently  ceased  for  the  ** Chair'''  to  make 

264       • 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  CONVENTION 


his  voice  heard,  the  Hon.  Bruce  Light  arose, 
with  a  firm  intellectual  face  and  with  a  voice 
that  ran  out  through  the  old  hall,  *^The  mo- 
tion of  the  gentlemen  from  Personel  is  that 
this  convention  do  adopt  the  majority  report. 
All  in  favor  of  the  motion  that  this  conven- 
tion adopt  the  majority  report  of  the  com- 
mittee on  resolutions  will  vote  *aye'."  The 
whole  convention,  delegates,  men  and  ladies 
seemed  to  yell  **aye,"  until  it  seemed  that 
the  old  roof  would  be  raised  from  the  old 
capitol.  ^^All  in  favor  of  not  adopting  the 
majority  report  will  vote  *no,'  declared  the 
*^ Chair,''  **and  after  the  majority  report  is 
voted  on,  the  chair  will  put  the  vote  on  the 
minority  report.  Through  the  hall  here  and 
there  could  be  heard  a  feeble  *'no"  going  up 
from  some  *^ Advisory  Counsel"  or  ** Special 
Agent,"  but  even  they  were  ashamed  to  be 
heard.  '*The  ayes  have  it— the  chair  de- 
clares the  majority  report  adopted  by  this 
convention.  The  noes  seemed  to  be  so  weak," 
declared  the  chair,  with  a  sarcastic  smile, 
*'that  the  chair  does  not  deem  it  necessary 
to  put  the  motion  on  the  minority  report, 
and  the  majority  report  stands  adopted." 

265 


THE  STRUGGLE 


The  convention  tlien  went  into  the  election 
of  State  House  officers  and  soon  nominated 
a  ticket,  in  point  of  intelligence,  integrity, 
honor  and  character,  that  was  in  keeping  with 
the  platform  it  had  adopted,  and  then  ad- 
journed. All  felt  that  a  great  patriotic  move- 
ment had  heen  set  in  motion  that  in  the  end 
would  tell  on  the  condition  of  the  old  state, 
and  when  the  convention  adjourned,  patriotic 
men  and  queenly  women  gathered  around 
Billy  Fitchen  to  shake  his  hand,  until  the  old 
convention  hall  down  near  the  speaker's 
stand  was  converted  into  a  reception  room. 

The  press  of  the  state  reported  the  speech, 
and  the  patriotism  of  the  whole  state  was  re- 
kindled and  reconsecrated  to  free  institutions, 
and  Billy  Fitchen  was  the  ideal  and  idol  of  a 
great  state. 


266 


CHAPTER  XX 


MORRIS    slogan's    LAST    LETTER 


MORRIS  SLOGAN  still  remained  a 
bachelor.  Grace  when  in  her  young 
vivacious  womanhood  had  left  an  im- 
pression upon  his  mind  and  his  heart  too  that 
he  could  not  rid  himself  of.  The  expression  of 
her  eyes  lived  with  him.  When  alone  and  un- 
disturbed he  could  see  through  his  mind's  eye 
her  beautiful  and  queenly  figure,  vivacious 
expression  that  played  over  her  face,  her 
golden  and  auburn  locks  which  made  her  the 
real  picture  of  a  living  queen.  There  was  a 
gentle  smile  that  played  over  her  face  and  a 
confidential  twinkling  of  her  brown  eyes  that 
still  remained  with  him.  When  all  alone  in 
his  room  at  the  dead  hours  of  night  her  golden 
locks,  her  soft  brown  eyes,  her  vivacious  form, 
haunted  him ;  they  caused  two  elements  of  his 
character  to  strive  with  each  other,  they 
caused  his  nature  to  carry  on  a  continuous 

267 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


battle  of  warfare.  The  idea  of  Grace  accept- 
ing young  Alex  Wilson,  a  young  man  of  or- 
dinary means,  in  preference  to  Mm  who  was 
the  son  of  Pont  Slogan,  a  multi-millionaire, 
aroused  his  wrath  and  contempt.  With  him 
money  was  the  standard  of  everything,  he 
could  not  understand  why  he  should  not  be 
the  counterpart  in  nature  to  any  queenly 
woman  that  he  might  wish;  according  to  his 
standard  his  money  should  be  all  that  she 
should  wish,  his  money  should  gratify  her 
every  want  and  her  every  desire,  measured 
by  his  standard  money  should  make  him  the 
aflSnity  for  the  fairest  queen  of  the  land.  And 
while  he  felt  outraged  for  Grace  having  re- 
jected him  for  young  Alex  Wilson,  yet  when 
all  alone  thinking  of  her  his  wrath  in  spite  of 
himself  would  pass  away  and  he  unconsciously 
would  find  himself  thinking  of  her.  Without 
letting  anybody  know  of  his  interest  in  Grace, 
he  had  kept  informed  of  her  whereabouts 
and  her  life  after  her  marriage,  and  after  she 
had  removed  to  Cincinnati  he  decided  to  write 
her.  The  two  elements  in  his  character  were 
operating  to  overcome  each  other.  He  first 
sympathized  with  her  and  then  his  self-con- 

268 


MORRIS  SLOGAN'S  LAST  LETTER 

ceit  arose  within  him  and  he  found  himself 
with  thoughts  like  these  running  through  his 
mind.  *  ^  Wliy  did  she  marry  him  in  preference 
to  me  any  way!  If  she  had  married  me  she 
could  have  had  everything  that  money  would 
control,  she  could  have  lived  in  New  York 
and  had  the  pleasures  of  this  life  and  have 
been  somebody,  she  could  have  been  intro- 
duced in  society  among  the  ^Four  Hundred,' 
with  whom  I  go,  and  my  money  with  her 
beauty  would  have  given  her  one  of  the  first 
places  in  society.  With  these  thoughts  and 
feelings  controlling  his  mind,  he  decided  to 
write  her  a  brief  letter,  simply  a  feeler,  to 
partially  sympathize  with  her  and  partially  to 
remind  her  of  what  she  could  have  been. 

**Mrs.  Alex  Wilson, 

**Elm  Street,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

'*My  Dear  Mrs.  Wilson:  I  have  heard  of 
your  misfortunes  in  life  and  it  grieves  me 
very  much.  I  often  think  of  the  time  when  I 
first  met  you  and  the  days  gone  by,  and  little 
did  I  think  then  that  such  a  good  and  beautiful 
being  as  you  could  ever  have  the  misfortunes 
that  I  am  informed  have  fallen  to  your  lot ;  it 

269 


THE  STRUGGLE 


is  too  bad.  I  know  you  will  pardon  me  when 
I  say  that  if  my  wishes  had  been  gratified  in 
days  gone  by  your  condition  in  life  would 
have  been  different.  However  the  past  is  the 
past  and  we  cannot  correct  its  mistakes.  I 
am  still  a  bachelor  and  connected  with  my 
father's  bank.  I  am  in  good  financial  condi- 
tion. If  I  can  assist  you  in  any  way  it  will 
afford  me  great  pleasure.  If  you  will  accept 
it,  I  will  like  to  aid  you  financially  as  I  really 
have  more  money  than  I  know  what  to  do 
with.  Do  me  the  kindness  to  drop  me  a  note 
and  tell  me  of  your  real  condition  and  if  you 
are  in  need.  It  would  give  me  great  sorrow 
to  know  that  you  really  were  in  a  strained 
financial  condition,  and  I  will  take  pleasure  in 
assisting  you. 

**  With  many  good  wishes  and  remembering 
the  days  gone  by  when  I  first  knew  you, 

**I  am,  sincerely  yours, 

**MoKRis  Slogan." 

When  Grace  received  Morris  Slogan's  let- 
ter her  wrath  was  aroused.  She  never  had 
cared  for  him,  and  for  him  to  think  that  his 
money  could  buy  her  love  and  affection  was 

270 


MORRIS  SLOGAN'S  LAST  LETTER 

abhorrent  to  her.  She  could  read  his  real 
purpose  between  the  lines,  she  did  not  mis- 
take his  purpose  to  both  remind  her  of  his 
money  and  to  humiliate  her  too.  She  prompt- 
ly answered  his  letter. 

'^Mr.  Morris  Slogan, 
*'New  York, 

**Care  of  Pont  Slogan  &  Co. 

^^Dear  Sir :  Your  recent  letter  received  and 
I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  answer 
it.  You  will  pardon  me  when  I  say  that  I 
fully  realize  my  condition  yet  I  know  the 
causes  that  brought  it  about.  You  refer  to 
your  financial  condition  and  that  you  are  con- 
nected with  your  father's  banking  house. 
Just  such  men  as  your  father  and  just  such 
institutions  as  your  father  is  operating  pro- 
duced the  condition  that  ruined  me  and  mine 
and  has  ruined  and  destroyed  thousands  of 
other  homes  in  this  land,  and  brought  thou- 
sands of  helpless  men,  women  and  children 
to  want.  Your  gold  and  paltry  dollars  do  not 
affect  me— I  know  how  they  were  secured. 
I  would  relieve  you  of  any  financial  aid  or 
assistance.    I  do  not  wish  to  share  in  the  bene- 

271 


THE  STRUGGLE 


fit  of  the  filthy  dollars  that  were  secured  by 
plundering  the  homes  of  the  widows  and  the 
orphans  of  the  land.  Thank  God  I  have  my 
health,  and  my  father  gave  me  an  education 
before  our  home  was  plundered  by  such  as 
Pont  Slogan  &  Co.,  and  I  will  use  the  health 
and  mind  that  God  has  given  me  to  care  for 
those  that  the  crimes  of  Pont  Slogan  and 
others  have  placed  upon  me.  You  will  greatly 
oblige  me  by  not  writing  any  more  and  re- 
ferring to  your  money. 

**Now  Mr.  Slogan,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to 
offend  or  insult  you  but  I  write  this  letter  in 
perfect  frankness  so  you  can  understand  and 
realize  my  feelings. 

*  *  Sincerely  yours, 

''Mrs.  Geace  Wilson." 

Morris  Slogan  did  not  address  her  any  more 
i— her  letter  ended  the  correspondence. 


272" 


CHAPTER  XXI 


ANOTHER    POLITICAL    CONVENTION 

SOON  after  the  Democratic  Convention 
of  North  Carolina  adjourned,  the  Demo- 
cratic Convention  of  New  York  met  in 
New  York  City. 

The  convention  assembled  in  the  halls  of 
Cooper  Institute.  It  was  a  representative 
meeting  of  the  Democracy  of  the  Empire 
State.  The  ** up-state"  Democrats  were  there 
to  fight  ** Tammany"  and  *^ Tammany"  was 
there  to  fight  the  *' up-state"  Democracy. 
The  delegates  representing  the  *' up-state" 
Democracy  were  mostly  natives  of  the  old 
Empire  State  and  representative  citizens. 
Tammany  was  represented  by  Irish,  Italians, 
Hungarians,  Polish,  Jews  and  some  good  la- 
bor union  delegates  and  young  lavryers  who 
had  moved  into  New  York  from  other  states  in 
the  Union.  It  was  a  typical  representation 
of  Tammany. 

273 


THE  STRUGGLE 


It  was  apparent  to  all  that  there  were 
issues  that  the  party  had  to  fight  over  other 
than  the  differences  between  the  **up  state'* 
and  the  **  Tammany"  Democracy.  Many 
labor  union  men  who  were  honest  and  patri- 
otic were  on  the  *' Tammany''  delegation  and 
could  not  be  controlled  by  the  *'ring."  A 
great  undercurrent  was  working  its  way  to 
the  surface  that  had  to  be  considered.  The 
party  could  no  longer  dodge  the  great  issues 
that  must  be  solved.  The  people  were  dis- 
satisfied and  discontentment  reigned  every- 
where. The  people  demanded  a  change  in 
existing  conditions,  the  people  demanded  that 
the  party  commit  itself  to  something— that  the 
party  stand  for  something  and  against  some- 
thing. It  was  clear  to  all  that  two  great  forces 
were  marshaling  for  final  battle,  that  either 
the  forces  of  the  masses  or  the  forces  of  the 
classes  would  win.  ** Special"  and  ^* General 
Agents"  and  ** Advisory  Counsels"  were 
everywhere  in  the  convention  hall.  Some 
were  there  as  delegates  and  some  were  there 
to  control  delegates.  Whether  there  as  dele- 
gates or  to  control  delegates  they  were  there 
to  control  the  convention  and  to  see  that  it 

274 


ANOTHER  POLITICAL  CONVENTION 

committed  itself  to  platitudes  and  did  not  do 
anything  that  would  injure  the  interests  of 
their  masters— the  protected  classes.  The 
Convention  was  called  to  order  by  the  retir- 
ing chairman,  the  Hon.  John  McHarran,  who 
made  the  usual  speech  declaring  that  the 
grand  old  party  of  the  people  had  met  in  con- 
vention to  save  the  people's  rights.  He  did 
not  tell  them  about  all  the  retainer  fees  that 
he  had  received  from  the  trusts  and  combines 
during  his  administration  as  chairman  for  his 
influence  at  Albany,  but  he  told  them  about 
the  rights  of  the  dear  people. 

After  the  usual  temporary  organization 
had  been  completed  a  permanent  organization 
was  perfected.  The  Hon.  John  Spincks  was 
made  chairman— a  '* Tammany"  Democrat. 
The  **ringsters"  and  **  tricksters ' '  had  ar- 
ranged for  his  election  beforehand.  Every- 
thing moved  along  smoothly  until  the  commit- 
tee on  resolutions  filed  into  the  convention 
hall.  The  ^  ^  tricksters ' '  and  ^  *  General  Agents ' ' 
and  ** Advisory  Counsels"  had  packed  the 
committee  on  resolutions,  they  had  prepared  a 
platform  in  advance  and  had  it  ready  to  be 
signed  by  the  committee,  but  there  were  a 

275 


THE  STRUGGLE 


few  honest  men  on  the  committee  that  would 
not  consent  to  the  platform  or  platitudes  pre- 
pared in  advance  by  the  *  tricksters."  They 
drew  a  minority  report  denouncing  the  roh- 
bery  and  oppression  of  the  trusts  and  com- 
bines, they  denounced  the  owners  and  con- 
trollers of  these  institutions  as  criminals  and 
enemies  of  organized  society  and  declared 
that  the  only  hope  of  the  republic  was  in  the 
destruction  of  these  institutions  and  brand- 
ing their  owners  and  operators  as  criminals. 
They  demanded  that  the  party  commit  itself 
to  the  policy  of  destroying  these  criminal  in- 
stitutions and  punishing  the  owners  and  con- 
trollers as  criminals.  The  minority  appointed 
the  Hon.  John  Thomas,  a  young  enterprising 
lawyer  who  had  recently  removed  from  a 
country  town  to  New  York  City  to  practice 
law,  to  lead  the  fight  for  the  minority  report. 
He  was  young  and  aggressive,  honest  and 
determined;  he  had  not  been  contaminated 
by  the  old  regime  of  the  ring  and  the  hirelings 
of  the  trusts ;  they  had  not  regarded  him  of 
sufficient  importance  to  take  him  into  their 
inner  circle— they  did  not  know  of  what  ma- 
terial he  was  made. 

276 


ANOTHER  POLITICAL  CONVENTION 

The  two  reports  were  read  to  the  conven- 
tion and  the  usual  perfunctory  speeches  were 
made  by  the  ^^ringsters,"  ^^ Special  Agents'' 
and  ^^ Advisory  Counsels''  that  the  majority 
report  be  adopted.  The  report  was  the  cool, 
deliberate  and  calm  judgment  of  the  majority 
of  the  convention  to  the  Democracy  of  New 
York,  they  declared,  and  should  be  adopted 
by  the  convention ;  but  when  the  time  for  Mr. 
Thomas  to  conclude  for  the  minority  was 
reached  he  arose  and  approached  the  plat- 
form of  the  convention  hall.  He  was  of  me- 
dium size,  cleanly  shaven  and  had  an  intelli- 
gent black  eye ;  his  face  was  the  face  of  a  man 
that  had  convictions  and  the  courage  to  fight 
for  them.  ^^Mr.  Chairman  and  gentlemen  of 
the  convention,"  he  began,  **I  represent  no 
faction  and  no  interest  in  this  convention  ex- 
cept the  people  of  this  great  state.  The  Demo- 
cratic party  has  no  right  to  exist  except  to 
serve  the  people.  I  say  to  the  Democrats  of 
this  great  state,  I  say  to  the  six  millions  of 
people  of  this  great  state  that  the  resolutions 
reported  to  this  convention  by  the  majority 
are  not  the  deliberate  judgment  of  this  con- 
vention and  do  not  represent  the  true  Democ- 

277 


THE  STRUGGLE 


racy  and  the  interests  of  the  people,  but  the 
platform  reported  by  the  majority  is  a  fraud 
upon  the  party  and  the  people  of  this  state 
perpetrated  by  a  few  ^tricksters'  who  are 
hirelings  of  a  few  financial  plutocrats.  I  say 
to  this  convention,  I  say  to  the  Democracy  of 
this  Empire  State  that  our  free  institutions 
are  decaying,  that  the  republic  is  going,  going, 
going  the  way  that  all  of  the  republics  of  the 
past  have  gone,  I  say  to  this  convention  and  to 
the  Democratic  party  of  this  union  that  we 
owe  a  duty  to  the  coming  generations  to  save 
our  free  institutions  and  this  republic. 
Through  class  legislation,  through  corrupt 
methods,  through  criminal  business  organiza- 
tions, a  few  today  own  and  control  all  the 
wealth  of  this  the  greatest  republic  on  the 
face  of  the  globe.  They  control  the  values 
of  the  products  of  eighty  millions  of  people, 
they  make  and  unmake  our  laws,  they  make 
and  unmake  the  chief  executives  of  the  com- 
monwealth of  this  Union,  they  make  and  un- 
make the  legislators  of  every  state  in  this  re- 
public, they  control  both  of  our  great  political 
parties,  they  dictate  the  policy  of  this  great 
republic.    From  Wall  Street  in  this  city  they 

278 


ANOTHER  POLITICAL  C02[VENTI0N^ 

operate  their  criminal  institutions  and  op- 
press the  millions  who  constitute  our  citizen- 
ship, they  have  collected  into  their  control  and 
ownership  all  the  money  of  the  Nation  just  as 
the  nobility  and  royalty  did  in  France  during 
the  reigns  of  the  Merovingian  and  the  Cape- 
tian  dynasties,  they  have  created  and  are  cre- 
ating the  same  conditions  in  this  republic  that 
the  nobility  and  royalty  created  in  France 
which  brought  on  one  of  the  greatest  conflicts 
in  history  and  drenched  the  soil  of  France 
with  innocent  human  blood.    This  republic  is 
owned  by  Wall  Street,  it  is  controlled  from 
Wall  Street,  just  as  the  Caesars  dictated  and 
controlled  the  Koman  Empire  from  the  city  of 
*Eome.    When  the  Caesars  had  created  a  cen- 
tralized government  in  Rome  and  dictated 
and  controlled  the  empire  from  their  seats  in 
the  Imperial  City,  corruption  began  to  reign 
everywhere  and  disease  and  decay  set  in  with- 
in the  Eoman  Empire  which  finally  brought 
about  its  dissolution  and  destruction.     His- 
tory is  but  repeating  itself  in  this  century 
and  it  yet  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  will  be  sufficient  to  correct 
these  wrongs  and  to  save  our  free  institutions. 

279 


THE  STRUGGLE 


In  this  great  city,  millions  upon  millions  of 
dollars  are  spent  annually  in  dissipation  by 
the  rich,  while  over  there  on  the  east  side 
thousands  are  perishing,  starving  and  dying 
and  filling  paupers'  graves.  From  Wall 
Street  a  few  *  Uncrowned  Kings  of  Fi- 
nance' are  collecting  in  the  wealth  produced 
by  the  millions  and  hoarding  up  the  money 
of  a  great  republic  into  their  vaults,  while  out 
yonder  on  the  plains  of  the  middle  west,  in 
the  wheat  fields  are  toiling  the  dissatisfied 
masses ;  yonder  in  the  cotton  fields  of  the 
south  are  toiling  an  earnest,  honest  and  dis- 
satisfied people;  in  the  sweat  shops  of  the 
great  cities  of  this  republic  are  housed  a  toil- 
ing and  discontented  people.  These  *  Un- 
crowned Kings  of  Finance,'  operating  from 
Wall  Street,  are  unmindful  and  unconscious 
of  this  heaving,  throbbing,  dissatisfied  and 
discontented  force  in  our  body-politic.  I  tell 
you  that  unless  a  change  is  wrought,  unless 
these  wrongs  are  corrected,  the  day  will 
come  when  these  oppressed  masses,  these 
people  robbed  of  their  just  earnings,  reduced 
to  want  and  to  poverty  by  the  criminals  from 
Wall  Street,  will  march  in  armies  upon  this 

280 


ANOTHER  POLITICAL  CONVENTION 

city  just  as  the  Jacobins  in  France  marched 
into  Paris,  just  as  the  revolutionists  and  the 
pauperized  masses  overthrew  and  destroyed 
Kome.  I  tell  you  that  these  wrongs  cannot 
continue,  that  they  must  be  corrected,  that 
they  must  be  destroyed  and  crushed  or  they 
will  overthrow  the  republic  and  destroy  our 
free  institutions,  and  when  the  crisis  comes, 
when  chaos  shall  reign  everywhere,  when  rev- 
olution shall  sweep  over  this  land,  some  leader 
will  establish  himself  as  a  dictator  and  a 
ruler  and  a  despot  on  the  ruins  of  our  free 
institutions,  just  as  the  leaders  of  revolutions 
in  the  past  have  always  done.  I  tell  you  that 
history  will  repeat  itself  here  in  this  the 
greatest  republic  on  earth.  Let  us  meet  these 
issues,  let  us  do  our  duty,  let  us  be  men,  let 
us  be  patriots.  The  report  of  the  majority  of 
the  committee  to  this  convention  is  the  prod- 
uct of  schemers  and  hirelings  of  "Wall  Street, 
they  were  on  the  committee,  they  are  in  this 
convention,  they  are  paid  by  these  ^Un- 
crowned Kings'  of  Wall  Street  to  commit 
these  crimes  against  organized  society, 
against  our  people  and  our  homes,  they  are 
paid  to  suppress  every  reform  movement,  to 

281 


THE  STRUGGLE 


prevent  just  legislation,  to  prevent  the  just 
administration  of  the  law,  they  are  in  both  of 
the  great  political  parties  of  this  country, 
they  are  in  every  convention  held  in  this 
Union,  they  are  in  the  legislative  halls  of 
every  commonwealth  of  this  republic.  Let  the 
Democracy  of  this  great  state  enter  its  protest 
against  them  and  their  crimes.  Let  us  de- 
clare that  they  cannot  rule  here.  The  minor- 
ity report  of  the  committee  to  this  conven- 
tion dodges  no  issue ;  it  declares  for  principle, 
it  declares  against  these  criminals  and  their 
crimes,  it  declares  for  law  and  order  in  this 
state,  it  declares  for  the  protection  of  the 
weak  and  the  oppressed.  From  the  very  be- 
ginning of  this  republic  there  have  been  two 
great  schools  of  political  thought  contending 
for  control;  they  grappled  with  each  other 
in  the  foundation  of  the  republic;  they  have 
contested  and  grappled  with  each  other  on 
every  issue  and  at  every  point  from  that  day 
until  now— Hamiltonianism,  which  is  the  rule 
of  the  classes,  and  Jeffersonianism,  which  is 
the  rule  of  the  masses.  Let  this  convention 
return  to  the  creed  of  its  great  apostle  Jef- 

282 


ANOTHER  POLITICAL  CONVENTION 

ferson  and  declare  that  it  believes  in  the  reign 
and  the  rule  of  the  people." 

At  this  point  a  telegram  was  handed  to  the 
Chair  and  was  passed  from  the  chairman  to 
Mr.  Thomas.  He  tore  it  open  and  halted  long 
enough  to  read  it.  It  was  from  the  Hon. 
Thomas  Bell,  a  Republican  congressman  from 
Illinois.  Mr.  Thomas  and  Mr.  Bell  had  been 
school  boys  together  back  in  a  country  town ; 
one  had  drifted  to  New  York  and  the  other  to 
Chicago ;  one  was  a  Republican  and  the  other 
a  Democrat  in  politics  but  both  honest  and 
patriotic  young  men.  The  Republican  Con- 
vention of  Illinois  was  in  session  at  Chicago 
and  Mr.  Bell  had  led  the  fight  of  the  reform 
movement  and  for  an  anti-trust  platform  in 
the  Republican  Convention  which  had  just 
been  adopted,  and  the  telegram  read  as  fol- 
lows: 


^*  Chicago,  III., 

*^To  the  Hon.  John  Thomas, 
^^New  York  City, 
**Care  of  the  Democratic  Convention. 

**Dear  Thomas:— The   friends  of  honest 
government  have  just  succeeded  in  passing  an 

283 


THE  STRUGGLE 


honest  platform  denouncing  the  criminal 
trusts  and  their  owners,  in  the  Republican 
Convention.  We  hope  you  will  be  able  to  do 
likewise  in  your  convention  today.  The  home 
of  Lincoln  sends  greetings  to  the  home  of  Sey- 
mour and  Tilden,  and  the  Eepublican  party 
of  Illinois  joins  the  Democratic  party  of  New 
York  for  an  honest  government  in  this 
Union." 

As  Mr.  Thomas  read  the  telegram  his  face 
took  on  new  life  and  vitality,  and  then  he 
raised  the  telegram  up  and  waved  it  to  the 
convention.  **Here  is  a  telegram  from  the 
Eepublican  Party  of  Illinois  to  the  Demo- 
cratic Party  of  New  York,  here  is  the  greeting 
of  the  home  of  Lincoln  to  the  home  of  Sey- 
mour and  Tilden,  for  an  honest  government 
in  this  Union,"  exclaimed  he,  then  with  a 
keen  penetrating  voice  that  echoed  through 
the  hall,  he  read  the  telegram,  then  stepping 
to  the  front  of  the  platform  and  raising  both 
hands  outstretched  to  the  convention,  he  ex- 
claimed, **The  two  great  political  parties  of 
this  country  may  differ  on  some  things,  they 
may  differ  on  some  economical  issues,  but  as 
honest  men  they  cannot  differ  on  the  issue  of 

284 


ANOTHER  POLITICAL  CONVENTION 

plunder  perpetrated  by  criminals  and  enemies 
of  organized  society,  and  I  believe  that  the 
Democracy  of  this  great  state,  the  home  of 
Seymour  and  Tilden,  will  send  its  greetings 
back  to  the  home  of  Lincoln  that  we  are  a 
unit  on  the  issue  that  an  honest  government 
shall  prevail  in  this  Union. '* 

As  Mr.  Thomas  concluded  men  yelled  and 
whooped,  tossed  their  hats  hither  and  thither 
through  the  convention  hall;  men  arose  in 
their  seats,  waved  their  handkerchiefs  and 
yelled  at  the  top  of  their  voices ;  pandemonium 
reigned ;  the  ^ '  ringsters, ' "  ^  tricksters, "  *  ^  Spe- 
cial Agents''  and  **  Advisory  Counsels" 
looked  disconcerted;  they  realized  the  effect 
of  his  speech  upon  the  convention.  When  the 
chairman  put  the  motion  on  the  majority  re- 
port, it  was  lost,  a  few  ayes  going  up  from  the 
^* Advisory  Counsels,"  *^ Special  Agents" 
and  ^^tricksters''  and  *' ringsters"  over  the 
hall  of  the  convention;  and  when  the  motion 
on  the  minority  report  was  put,  the  **  up- 
state" Democracy  voted  as  a  man  and  a  great 
portion  of  the  labor  union  delegates  and  other 
members  from  ^ '  Tammany, ' '  and  the  minority 
report   was    adopted   by    an   overwhelming 

285 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


majority.  Mr.  Thomas  and  tlie  reformers  in 
the  convention,  seeing  that  they  had  the  **ring- 
sters"  and  the  ** tricksters"  disconcerted, 
took  charge  of  the  convention  and  nominated 
a  ticket  in  keeping  with  the  platform,  and 
then  adjourned.  The  effect  of  this  conven- 
tion in  New  York  was  felt  throughout  the 
Union.  The  reformers  in  both  of  the  great 
political  parties  and  the  leaders  of  the  people 
took  on  new  hope  and  inspiration. 


286 


CHAPTEE  XXII 


A  CONTINUATION  OF  THE  GOOD  WORK 

AS  the  conventions  of  all  the  political 
parties  met  throughout  the  Union,  it 
was  the  same  old  fight  over  between 
the  rights  of  the  people  and  the  power  of  the 
*' Organized  Anarchists.'*  The  ** Organized 
Anarchists'*  had  their  ** Special''  and  ** Gen- 
eral Agents"  and  *^  Advisory  Counsels"  in  all 
of  the  conventions.  They  had  their  hirelings 
on  all  the  committees  of  all  the  parties.  Their 
hirelings  had  every  means  of  controlling  the 
people's  representatives— free  passes  and 
money  too.  As  the  conventions  of  every  polit- 
ical faith  would  gather  from  time  to  time  in 
the  various  states  of  the  Union,  the  **  Special 
Agents"  and  '* General  Agents"  would  be  on 
hand  around  the  hotels  where  the  people's 
representatives  met,  keeping  in  touch  and 
elbowing  with  them  and  using  every  means 
foul  and  fair  to  shape  their  opinions.    Some 

287 


THE  STRUGGLE 


of  these  *^ Special"  and  "General  Agents" 
would  always  manage  to  be  delegates  to  the 
conventions  and  they  resorted  to  every  scheme 
and  design  to  throttle  an  expression  of  public 
opinion  by  any  of  the  political  parties.  They 
utilized  every  advantage  and  they  resorted 
to  every  scheme  and  plan ;  they  were  fighting 
against  public  opinion,  right  and  justice— 
the  great  clash  had  come,  the  final  issue  had 
been  joined  between  the  power  of  the  rights 
of  the  people  and  the  power  of  the  wrongs 
of  the  "Organized  Anarchists."  Free  gov- 
ernment was  hanging  in  the  balance.  If  the 
"Organized  Anarchists"  and  their  wrongs 
triumphed,  free  institutions  must  go;  if  the 
power  of  the  rights  of  the  people  triumphed, 
free  institutions  would  talie  on  new  life  and 
the  inherent  strength  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  would  go  marching  on  working  out 
greater  destinies  through  the  centuries  to  free 
the  world.  The  hirelings  and  henchmen  of 
these  "Organized  Anarchists"  were  fighting 
against  the  great  irresistible  force  that  has 
made  and  unmade  nations  through  the  cen- 
turies, the  consciences  of  men  quickened  to 
existing  wrongs.    They  served  their  masters, 

288 


CONTINUATION  OF  TEE  GOOD  WORK 

the  Mammon  of  their  day,  well,  they  left  noth- 
ing undone,  they  had  mortgaged  their  souls 
and  their  all  to  the  will  of  their  masters  and 
to  the  wrongs  that  these  masters  were  perpe- 
trating upon  a  free  and  great  people.  But 
right  was  moving  on— the  greatest  race  of  the 
world  in  its  highest  state  of  civilization  was 
fighting  for  its  freedom.  The  two  great 
forces  which  have  been  grappling  with  each 
other  through  the  centuries,  right  and  wrong, 
were  arrayed  in  final  battle  for  freedom- 
free  institutions  were  waging  their  last  and 
final  war— right  was  leading  its  final  battle 
in  the  destruction  of  wrong.  Everywhere  and 
in  every  convention  the  will  of  the  people 
was  triumphant,  just  men  of  all  political 
schools  and  faiths  were  united  on  one  issue, 
that  the  criminal  institutions  of  the  **  Organ- 
ized Anarchists"  must  be  destroyed  and  the 
criminals  punished.  The  same  faith  was  re- 
asserting itself  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  that 
wrenched  the  Magna  Charta  from  King  John 
at  Eunnymede,  that  snatched  Charles  the 
First  from  the  throne  and  sent  his  soul  march- 
ing on  into  the  great  unknown,  that  wrote  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  at  Philadelphia 

289 


THE  STRUGGLE 


and  gave  birth  to  a  new  republic— faith  in 
right,  faith  in  justice,  faith  in  the  right  of 
the  people  to  govern  themselves  was  taking 
on  new  life,  was  taking  on  new  force  to  work 
out  greater  things  and  greater  blessings  for 
the  human  family.  Faith  in  a  doctrine  con- 
ceived and  developed  by  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  and  which  has  made  it  a  race  able  to 
work  out  the  destines  of  free  institutions 
through  the  centuries  and  the  controlling  race 
of  the  world,  was  reasserting  itself  on  the 
forces  of  organized  society. 

In  every  state  of  the  Union  these  criminal 
institutions  were  denounced  by  every  political 
party  of  every  faith,  and  their  owners  and 
controllers  as  enemies  of  organized  society, 
a  great  race  of  a  great  republic  was  moving 
as  a  unit  against  great  wrongs.  Money  and 
power  would  not  withstand  the  irresistible 
onslaught  of  truth  against  indefensible 
wrongs.  The  inherent  strength  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  was  reasserting  itself,  was  taking 
on  new  life  to  blot  out  existing  wrongs  and 
to  renew  its  march  to  the  final  battle  of  trium- 
phant truth.  The  political  parties  in  declar- 
ing against  these  wrongs  and  for  the  re-estab- 

290 


CONTINUATION  OF  TEE  GOOD  WORK 

lishment  of  truth  in  the  body-politic  were  but 
declaring  the  will  of  the  people,  declaring 
what  had  been  forced  upon  them  by  the  in- 
herent strength  of  a  great  race  capable  of 
self  government.  The  will  of  the  people  in 
every  state  of  the  Union  was  that  these 
wrongs  must  go,  must  be  destroyed,  that  these 
Organized  Anarchists  must  be  punished  and 
these  criminal  institutions  should  be  de- 
stroyed. The  will  of  a  great  race  demanded 
it— a  race  that  has  developed  through  the 
centuries  the  capacity  of  self  government. 
The  will  of  the  people  in  this  American  Union 
is  and  must  be  law,  the  henchman  and  hire- 
lings of  the  Organized  Anarchists  could  not 
prevent  its  finality,  all  of  the  political  parties, 
Civic  Leagues,  Citizens'  Leagues,  Independ- 
ent Leagues,  etc.,  were  going  on  record 
against  these  wrongs,  the  people  were  aroused 
to  the  necessity  of  the  times  and  as  time  rolled 
on  the  will  of  the  people  was  not  only  written 
in  the  creeds  of  all  the  political  parties  but 
on  the  statute  books  of  every  commonwealth 
of  the  Union  and  on  the  statute  books  of  the 
Federal  Government  too.  The  contest  that 
was  to  decide  whether  or  not  our  free  institu- 

291 


THE  STRUGGLE 


tions  were  to  live  was  fought  out  in  the  legis- 
lative halls  of  every  state  in  the  Union,  the 
henchmen  and  the  hirelings  of  the  Organized 
Anarchists  were  there  to  oppose  every  meas- 
ure that  meant  destruction  to  these  criminal 
institutions.  They  had  back  of  them  all  the 
power  that  money  could  create,  power  that 
would  have  destroyed  free  government  and 
free  institutions  among  any  race  other  than 
the  Anglo-Saxon— a  power  greater  than  that 
which  destroyed  the  Eoman  Empire,  power 
greater  than  that  which  destroyed  the  Ionian 
Confederacy,  power  greater  than  that  which 
destroyed  the  Greek  States,  power  greater 
than  that  which  destroyed  the  infant  Republic 
which  preceded  the  Russian  Empire— that 
corrupting  power  of  the  almighty  dollar 
which  has  ruined,  wrecked  and  destroyed  free 
institutions  of  every  race  of  the  earth  with  the 
exception  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  but  here  in  this 
American  Union  was  a  race  sufficient  by  in- 
herent strength,  education  and  environment 
to  overcome  this  deadly  foe  of  free  institu- 
tions. Public  sentiment  and  the  will  of  the 
people  were  greater  forces  upon  the  law  mak- 
ers of  the  land  than  the  '* Special  Agents'' 

292 


CONTINUATION  OF  TEE  GOOD  WORK 

and  ^^ General  Agents'^  and  hirelings  and 
henchmen  and  money  of  the  Organized  An- 
archists. 

The  corridors,  the  private  chambers  and 
the  back  rooms  of  every  legislative  hall  in 
the  American  Union  were  packed  with  these 
hirelings,  henchmen  and  lobbyists  of  these 
** Organized  Anarchists"  to  defeat  legislation 
that  meant  destruction  to  the  criminal  in- 
stitutions of  their  masters,  but  as  the  legis- 
latures met  from  time  to  time  in  every  state 
of  the  Union  the  will  of  the  people  was 
heard  from,  legislation  was  enacted  that  made 
the  operation  of  these  criminal  institutions 
a  crime,  laws  were  passed  that  declared  all 
combinations  that  affected  the  laws  of  compe- 
tition, supply  and  demand  to  be  illegal  and 
those  who  owned  and  controlled  and  operated 
them  criminals.  Laws  were  passed  that  de- 
clared the  Organized  Anarchists  criminals 
and  the  operation  of  their  institutions  a  crime 
—laws  that  destroyed  the  criminal  institu- 
tions of  the  land  and  punished  the  criminals. 

As  the  successive  legislatures  met  in  the 
various  states  of  the  American  Union— from 
year  to  year  these   statutes  were   enacted 

293 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


until  there  was  not  a  commonwealth  in 
the  American  Union  where  these  Organized 
Anarchists  could  operate  their  criminal  insti- 
tutions without  operating  in  violation  of  the 
criminal  law.  Not  only  had  every  common- 
wealth in  the  Union  declared  these  Organized 
Anarchists  to  be  criminals  but  the  Federal 
Government  had  done  likewise,  the  people's 
representatives  in  congress  had  caught  up  the 
inspiration  of  the  times  and  placed  the  laws 
upon  the  statute  books  that  declared  these 
Organized  Anarchists  to  be  criminals  and  the 
operation  of  their  institutions  a  crime  against 
organized  society.  Each  state  and  the  Fed- 
eral Government  had  fixed  the  penalty  suffi- 
cient to  be  commensurate  with  the  crime. 

The  struggle  had  been  long,  the  contest  had 
been  hard,  the  patience  of  a  suffering  people 
had  been  outraged  but  the  inherent  strength 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  was  capable  of  self 
government,  was  able  to  meet  any  and 
every  issue  of  organized  society  necessary 
to  continue  the  existence  of  free  in- 
stitutions, was  able  to  crush  out  every 
wrong  and  to  maintain  common  justice 
and    right   in    the    body-politic.      The    An- 

294 


CONTINUATION  OF  TEE  GOOD  WORK 

glo-Saxon  race  in  its  highest  type  of  civ- 
ilization, as  developed  in  this  American 
Union,  once  again  served  notice  upon  the 
crowned  heads,  monarchs  and  despots  of  the 
old  world  that  free  institutions  should  live 
and  that  the  inherent  strength  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race  should  go  on  working  out  its  des- 
tiny through  the  coming  centuries  to  free  the 
enslaved  millions  from  the  oppression  of  roy- 
alty, nobility  and  commercial  robbery. 

The  people  through  their  representatives 
had  not  only  declared  the  trusts  and  combines 
to  be  criminal  institutions  and  their  owners 
criminals  but  had  also  declared  the  combines 
of  the  great  transportation  companies  illegal 
and  operating  in  violation  of  law.  They  had 
declared  that  the  stock  exchanges  which  cre- 
ated fictitious  values  and  plundered  the  people 
to  be  criminal  institutions  and  their  owners 
and  controllers  to  be  criminals.  The  criminal 
laws  wiped  out  these  criminal  institutions 
and  placed  the  criminal  seal  upon  the  men 
who  owned  them.  The  inherent  sovereignty 
of  the  people  declared  that  the  government 
should  control  the  great  transportation  com- 
panies rather  than  the  transportation  com- 

295 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


panies  control  the  government,  and  that  these 
great  trunk  lines  exercising  the  rights  of  emi- 
nent domain  delegated  to  them  by  the  people 
should  be  operated  in  justice  and  fairness  to 
the  public.  Law  and  order  was  triumphant 
ever3rwhere  and  the  seal  of  the  criminal  law 
was  stamped  upon  the  Organized  Anarchists 
and  their  criminal  institutions. 


296 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


THE  REAL  CRIMINALS  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  LAW 

THE  real  test  was  now  on  hand,  the  law 
makers  had  enacted  the  laws  declaring 
the  '* Organized  Anarchists''  the  real 
criminals  of  the  land.  Would  Pont  Slogan 
and  his  associates  be  able  to  defy  the  laws  of 
the  land?  That  was  the  question,  the  all  im- 
portant question— the  henchmen  and  hirelings 
of  Slogan  and  his  associates  had  used  money, 
influence  and  every  means,  foul  or  fair,  to 
defeat  legislation  that  declared  these  *^  Or- 
ganized Anarchists ' '  criminals,  but  had  failed. 
Now  the  laws  had  been  enacted— would  the 
constituted  authorities  of  the  people  execute 
them?— would  the  laws  be  enforced?— would 
the  will  of  the  people  be  able  to  overcome  the 
will  of  Pont  Slogan  and  his  associates?— that 
was  the  question.  It  was  the  will  of  eighty 
millions  of  people  against  the  will  of  a  few 
** Organized  Anarchists,"  but  the  American 

297 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


people  everywhere  were  determined,  public 
opinion  was  raging  at  its  highest  water  mark, 
public  opinion  and  public  sentiment,  which 
after  all  is  final  law,  was  determined  that 
these  organized  criminals  and  their  institu- 
tions should  go,  public  officials  dared  not  op- 
pose the  law  of  an  outraged  people,  the 
officers  hitherto  dreaded  the  **  Organized 
Anarchists,"  but  now  they  could  be  independ- 
ent because  the  people  were  aroused  and  were 
determined  to  destroy  the  ^*  Organized  An- 
archists ' '  and  their  institutions.  There  could 
be  no  dickering  between  the  officers  of  the  law 
and  these  *  *  Organized  Anarchists, ' '  the  people 
would  not  tolerate  it.  The  law  must  be  en- 
forced was  declared  everywhere  by  the  people. 
Grand  Juries  in  every  state  of  the  Union  were 
finding  true  bills  against  the  ''Special 
Agents,"  *' General  Agents"  and  '* Advisory 
Counsels"  of  the  ** Organized  Anarchists," 
their  '^ Special  Agents,"  '* General  Agents" 
and  * 'Advisory  Counsels"  had  committed 
bribery  either  directly  or  indirectly  in  every 
state  of  the  Union  fighting  legislation  that 
meant  the  destruction  of  the  ''Organized  An- 
archists," their  hirelings  and  henchmen  had 

298 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  LAW 

lobbied  in  every  state  in  the  Union,  they  had 
elbowed  and  tampered  with  the  people's  rep- 
resentatives, they  had  used  private  cars,  free 
passes  and  money  to  defeat  the  legislation 
aimed  at  the  '* Organized  Anarchists."  And 
the  Grand  Juries,  the  grand  investigators  of 
an  outraged  people  were  finding  true  bills 
against  these  men  in  every  state  in  the  Union. 
They  not  only  tampered  with  the  people's 
representatives  in  the  various  states  of  the 
Union  but  with  the  people's  representatives 
in  Washington  and  the  Federal  Grand  Juries 
were  also  finding  true  bills. 

After  the  laws  were  passed  the  ''Organ- 
ized Anarchists"  attempted  to  do  business  in 
violation  of  the  law,  they  attempted  to  defy 
the  law,  the  Grand  Juries  were  indicting  these 
men  everywhere.  Pont  Slogan  and  his  asso- 
ciates were  no  exception  to  the  rule,  they  were 
also  indicted;  the  operators  of  the  stock  ex- 
changes were  indicted;  the  controllers  and 
operators  of  the  great  corporations  through- 
out the  land  were  indicted.  The  Courts  were 
busy  trying  these  real  criminals  of  ''Organ- 
ized Society,"  not  only  were  they  being  in- 
dicted but  they  were  being  convicted  in  every 

299 


THE  STRUGGLE 


state  in  the  Union;  every  train  carried  the 
*^ Special  Agents,"  ** General  Agents'*  and 
'* Advisory  Counsels''  of  these  ** Organized 
Anarchists"  to  the  prisons  of  the  various 
states  of  the  Union  and  they  were  wearing 
the  iron  clamps  of  the  handcuffs  as  other 
prisoners— why  not?  They  were  the  real 
criminals.  "Why  should  exceptions  be  made 
in  their  eases?  The  penitentiaries  of  every 
state  of  the  Union  were  occupied  by  these 
men  who  had  been  the  real  criminals  of  Or- 
ganized Society ;  they  wore  stripes  like  other 
criminals ;  they  had  tampered  with  the  rights 
of  the  people;  they  had  tampered  with  and 
bartered  away  the  sacred  rights  of  free  insti- 
tutions; they  had  corrupted  the  fountain 
sources  of  constitutional  government;  they 
were  the  real  criminals  of  Organized  Society, 
the  penitentiaries  of  the  land  were  prepared 
for  such  as  they. 

But  while  the  ''Advisory  Counsels,"  ^'Spe- 
cial Agents"  and  '^General  Agents"  were 
paying  the  penalty  in  every  state  in  the  Union 
for  their  crimes  the  chief  criminals  were  not 
evading  the  law.  Pont  Slogan,  the  real 
leader  of  the  ' '  Organized  Anarchists, ' '  James 

300 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  LAW 

Fukelow  of  the  International  Tobacco  Co., 
Thos.  Shotts  of  the  International  Steel  &  Iron 
Trust,  Jacob  Heinstein  of  the  International 
Sugar  Trust,  John  Sukelow  of  the  In- 
ternational Oil  Co.,  Wm.  Morgan  of  the 
American  &  Continental  Cotton  Co.,  John 
Henson  of  the  American  &  Continental 
Corn  &  Wheat  Co.,  and  all  others  of  the 
real  Anarchists,  who  had  met  for  years  in  the 
rear  of  Pont  Slogan  &  Company's  Banking 
House  in  Wall  Street,  to  plunder  the  people, 
were  indicted.  One  by  one  they  were  con- 
victed—one by  one  they  were  declared  com- 
mon plunderers  and  sentenced  to  hard  labor 
behind  iron  bars.  Pont  Slogan  was  tried  in 
the  First  Division  of  the  Criminal  Court  of 
New  York,  Judge  Snodgrass  presiding.  He 
was  represented  by  the  best  counsel  that 
money  could  employ,  but  to  no  avail.  A  right- 
eous jury  declared  him  guilty,  and  when  the 
verdict  was  read,  '*We,  the  jury,  find  the  de- 
fendant guilty,''  the  presiding  justice  repeat- 
ed in  the  usual  form,  ^'Let  the  prisoner  stand 
up.  What  have  you  to  say,  sir,  why  the  sen- 
tence of  the  law  should  not  be  passed  upon 
you?"  Pont  Slogan  stood  erect,  with  his  red 

301 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


face,  red  nose  and  bull  neck,  and  a  stubborn 
face.  '* Nothing,  sir,"  said  he.  It  was  the  ex- 
pression of  a  man  who  had  been  the  chief  plun- 
derer of  his  fellow-men,  a  man  without  con- 
science, a  man  hardened  to  crime,  a  man  whose 
conscience  was  dead.  *^You  sir,''  said  Jus- 
tice Snodgrass,  have  caused  more  misery  and 
suffering  in  this  country  than  ten  thousand 
ordinary  criminals ;  you  have  caused  your  fel- 
low-men to  go  hungry  and  in  need  of  the  ne- 
cessities of  life;  you  have  robbed  them  of 
food  and  raiment ;  you  have  been  at  the  head 
of  the  greatest  set  of  organized  plunderers 
that  have  ever  disgraced  a  civilization  and  ex- 
isted in  a  civilized  age ;  you  have  been  at  the 
head  of  a  band  of  *  Organized  Anarchists' 
who  regarded  neither  the  laws  of  God  nor 
man;  you  and  your  competitors  have  defied 
the  rights  of  your  fellow-men  and  the  laws 
of  your  country;  you  have  been  organized 
plunderers  of  Organized  Society;  you  have 
been  the  chief  of  the  real  Anarchists— of  the 
real  criminals  of  this  land.  You,  sir,  and  your 
confederates  have  plundered  the  homes  of  this 
republic;  you  have  caused  homes  that  were 
once  prosperous  and  happy  to  become  desert- 

302 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  LAW 

ed;  you  and  your  associates  have  attempted 
to  destroy  the  greatest  civilization  and  the 
greatest  republic  of  the  world ;  you  and  your 
associates  have  caused  men  to  commit  sui- 
cide, to  leave  their  wives  and  their  children 
helpless  upon  the  world;  you  and  your  con- 
federates have  filled  this  republic  with  trou- 
ble and  sorrow;  you  have  caused  thousands 
upon  thousands  to  go  in  hunger  and  want. 
Sir,  I  shall  give  you  the  full  benefit  of  the 
law,  twenty  years  in  the  State  Penitentiary 
at  hard  labor.''    And  then  the  presiding  jus- 
tice turned  to  the  officer  and  said:  **Mr.  Of- 
ficer, this  man  is  a  criminal  and  the  sentence 
of  the  law  has  been  pronounced  upon  him; 
let  him  be  treated  as  other  criminals  and  prop- 
erly handcuffed  and   placed  in   the   county 
prison  and  in  due  process  of  law  turned  over 
to  the  authorities  of  the  State  Penitentiary. 
He  is  entitled  to  no  favoritism  and  let  him  be 
treated  as  a  real  criminal. ' '    As  the  presiding 
justice  pronounced  the  judgment   old  Pont 
Slogan  growled  out  a  grunt  and  the  officer 
locked  the  iron  clamps  of  the  handcuffs  upon 
him  and  he  was  ushered  on  to  the  Toombs  to 
be  committed  to  the  prison  at  Sing  Sing.    The 

303 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


next  prisoner  convicted  before  Judge  Snod- 
grass  was  John  Sukelow  of  the  International 
Oil  Co.  When  the  sentence  of  ** guilty"  was 
brought  into  court  by  the  jury  Judge  Snod- 
grass  told  the  prisoner  to  stand  up.  **What 
have  you  to  say,  sir,  why  the  sentence  of  the 
law  should  not  be  passed  upon  you?"  John 
Sukelow  was  pale,  looked  weak  and  feeble ;  he 
had  worn  out  his  life 's  blood  and  vitality  and 
exhausted  his  energies  in  collecting  and 
hoarding  up  the  wealth  that  belonged  to  other 
men.  *' Nothing,  your  Honor,"  said  he. 
**You  appeal  to  my  sympathy  as  well  as  my 
wrath,"  said  the  presiding  justice.  *' You  have 
been  one  of  the  chief  plunderers  of  the  *  Or- 
ganized Anarchists';  you  have  been  one  of 
the  real  Anarchists  of  this  government,  yet 
you  have  spent  some  of  the  money  that  you 
have  wrenched  through  your  methods  from 
Organized  Society  in  planting  hospitals,  col- 
leges and  universities,  but  the  small  amount 
that  you  have  given  away  for  these  charitable 
purposes  cannot  correct  the  wrongs  that  you 
have  done  your  fellow-men;  you  have  been 
one  of  the  greatest  plunderers  of  this  age; 
you  have  collected  in  by  your  organized  sys- 

304 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  LAW 


tern  of  plunder  the  millions  that  belonged  to 
Organized  Society,  yet  you  have  some  good 
traits.  The  Court  also  considers  your  weak 
and  feeble  condition  and  for  these  reasons 
will  make  your  sentence  lighter.  The  sen- 
tence of  the  Court  is  that  you  are  to  be  con- 
fined in  the  State  Penitentiary  for  ten 
years.''  The  iron  clamps  of  the  handcuffs 
were  also  placed  upon  John  Sukelow  and  he 
went  the  way  to  the  Toombs  and  thence  to 
Sing  Sing.  The  next  prisoner  which  was  con- 
victed before  Judge  Snodgrass  was  James 
Fukelow  of  the  International  Amalgamated 
Tobacco  Co.  The  legal  process  of  finding 
this  prisoner  guilty  was  brief.  Guilty  was  in 
the  atmosphere.  Honest  jurors  were  out- 
raged by  the  wrongs  that  these  men  had  per- 
petrated upon  the  people  and  had  no  patience 
with  the  way  they  had  defied  the  law.  *  ^  Stand 
up,  Mr.  Fukelow,"  said  the  Judge,  *^the  jury 
have  found  you  guilty.  What  have  you  to  say 
why  the  sentence  of  the  law  should  not  be 
passed  upon  youT'  Mr.  Fukelow,  a  strong  and 
robust  man  with  a  red,  bloated  face  that  clear- 
ly illustrated  that  the  man  was  nearly  all  ani- 
mal, said,  *  *  Nothing,  your  Honor,  except  that 

305 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


I  request  you  to  be  as  reasonable  with  me  as 
possible.''  **Sir,  I  have  no  patience  with 
you.  You  were  a  comparatively  young  man 
when  you  commenced  your  operations  and  vi- 
olations of  law  and  committing  your  depreda- 
tions upon  the  people;  you  have  persistently 
and  continuously  defied  the  law  and  the  rights 
of  Organized  Society;  you  have  repudiated 
the  state  that  gave  you  birth ;  you  have  repu- 
diated your  own  people ;  you  have  destroyed 
the  civilization  of  your  own  people  and  of 
your  own  state;  you  have  caused  happy  and 
prosperous  homes  to  be  deserted  in  this  land ; 
you  have  been  one  of  the  chief  perpetrators 
of  the  crimes  of  the  real  Anarchists  of  this 
age;  you  deserve  no  sympathy;  I  shall  give 
you  the  full  penalty  of  the  law,  twenty  years 
at  hard  labor  in  the  state  prison. ' '  Then  the 
officer  placed  the  iron  clamps  of  the  hand- 
cuffs upon  Fukelow  and  he  went  the  due 
course  also  to  the  Toombs  and  thence  to  Sing 
Sing.  Day  after  day  and  week  after  week 
Judge  Snodgrass,  as  fast  as  honest  jurors 
could  find  these  ** Organized  Anarchists" 
guilty,  sentenced  them  to  hard  labor  in  the 
State  Penitentiary,  until  all  the  men  who  met 

306 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  LAW 

in  the  rear  of  Pont  Slogan  and  Company's 
Banking  House  in  days  past  to  plunder  Or- 
ganized Society,  were  wearing  the  stripes  at 
Sing  Sing. 

While  Judge  Snodgrass  was  sentencing 
these  criminals  to  serve  their  terms  behind 
prison  bars  the  Courts  of  justice  in  Chicago, 
the  great  metropolis  of  the  west,  were  also 
grinding  out  justice.  Judge  Thos.  Buke,  who 
presided  over  the  first  division  of  the  Crim- 
inal Court  of  Chicago,  was  daily  sentencing 
the  real  criminals  and  **  Organized  Anarch- 
ists," who  had  operated  from  that  metrop- 
olis, to  the  State  Penitentiary.  The  chief 
criminal  sentenced  by  Judge  Buke  was  Henry 
Oknell,  President  of  the  American  Meat  Co. 
When  the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  guilty, 
the  presiding  justice  told  the  prisoner  to 
stand  up.  **What  have  you  to  say,  sir,  why 
the  sentence  of  the  law  should  not  be  passed 
upon  you?"  inquired  the  judge.  **Not  any- 
thing, your  Honor,  except  that  I  ask  for  the 
mercy  of  the  Court."  **You  deserve  no 
mercy,  sir ;  you  have  been  at  the  head  of  one 
of  the  most  outrageous  institutions  that  ever 
existed  in  a  civilized  country.    Years  ago  the 

307 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


stock  industry  of  this  western  country  was  a 
prosperous  business.  There  were  numbers 
of  prosperous  and  industrious  packing  houses 
that  handled  the  stock  raised  by  our  western 
people  and  placed  the  meats  upon  the  market 
to  the  American  people  at  prices  governed  by 
the  laws  of  supply  and  demand.  Gradually 
you  and  your  associates  began  to  form  com- 
binations. You  made  terms  with  the  rail- 
roads for  rebates  and  private  car  arrange- 
ments, until  you  have  crushed  these  indus- 
trious enterprises  and  driven  them  out  of 
business,  and  then  you  gradually  closed  in 
upon  the  meat  markets  of  the  country  until 
you  compelled  our  western  people  to  sell  the 
entire  output  of  their  stock  to  some  three  or 
four  of  your  combines  and  then  you  com- 
pelled the  American  people  to  pay  you  your 
price  for  what  they  consumed,  and  then  you 
gradually  closed  in  until  these  combines  were 
consolidated  into  one,  of  which  you  became 
the  chief  operator,  and  you  have  thereby  held 
the  chief  industry  of  this  great  western  coun- 
try at  your  mercy  and  at  the  same  time  levied 
tribute  upon  the  table  of  every  household  in 
the  land.    You  have  lowered  the  price  of  the 

308 


TEE  ''CAPTAINS  OF  FINANCE" 

stock  raised  by  our  western  people  and  you 
have  raised  the  price  of  the  meat  supplied  to 
the  consumer  throughout  this  land.  You,  sir, 
have  collected  your  graft  from  the  poor,  the 
hungry  and  the  perishing.  None  have  been 
too  low  and  none  too  high  for  you  to  plunder; 
none  have  been  too  rich  and  none  too  poor 
for  you  to  rob.  There  is  not  anything  in  his- 
tory that  parallels  the  outrages  that  you  have 
committed  upon  the  American  people.  You 
deserve  the  contempt  of  all  respectable  men. 
The  Courts  have  issued  their  injunctions 
against  the  operation  of  your  institutions; 
you  have  been  prohibited  from  committing 
these  crimes  upon  the  people;  you  have  defied 
the  laws  of  every  state  in  this  American 
Union;  you  have  bid  defiance  to  the  decrees 
and  judgments  of  the  Courts.  I  neither  have 
patience  nor  sympathy  with  characters  like 
you.  Justice  demands  that  you  be  given  the 
full  penalty  of  the  law.  The  sentence  of  the 
Court  is,  therefore,  that  you  be  confined  to 
hard  labor  in  the  State  Penitentiary  for 
twenty  years.''  The  iron  handcuffs  were 
then  placed  upon  the  prisoner  and  he  went 

309 


THE  STRUGGLE 


his  way  to  tlie  county  jail  and  then  behind  the 
iron  bars  of  the  State  Prison. 

Judge  Snodgrass  and  Judge  Buke  were 
not  the  only  justices  who  were  sentencing  the 
real  Anarchists,  the  real  criminals.  Other 
Courts  throughout  the  land  were  doing  like- 
wise, until  all  the  ^'Organized  Anarchists'* 
and  real  criminals  were  wearing  stripes  in 
the  respective  penitentiaries  of  the  various 
states  of  the  Union.  The  Federal  Courts 
were  doing  their  full  duty,  too.  They  were 
sentencing  the  real  criminals  which  had  vio- 
lated the  Federal  laws  and  bid  defiance  to 
the  constituted  authorities  of  the  Federal 
Government.  All  the  penitentiaries  of  the 
states  and  of  the  Federal  Government  were 
filled  with  these  real  criminals  of  Organized 
Society;  and  the  criminal  stock  exchanges, 
the  criminal  combinations  and  the  criminal 
trusts  which  had  plundered  a  great  people  for 
a  generation,  were  gone ;  the  laws  of  supply, 
demand  and  competition  had  reasserted  them- 
selves in  Organized  Society  and  the  nation  as 
a  nation  was  reasserting  itself.  Organized 
Society  was  taking  on  its  real  and  true  con- 
dition; the  laws  of  supply,  demand  and  com- 

310 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  LAW 

petition  fixed  the  values  of  the  wealth  pro- 
duced by  a  great  and  free  people;  law  had 
reasserted  itself;  order  was  once  again  en- 
forced in  the  land,  and  a  nation  of  homes  was 
once  again  being  established,  a  great  republic 
was  taking  on  new  life,  the  life's  blood  of  a 
great  people  was  coursing  through  the  nat- 
ural arteries  of  Organized  Society,  and  the 
people  were  becoming  strong  and  prosperous 
everywhere. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  race  had  solved  one  of 
the  greatest  problems  of  the  ages  and  had  de- 
stroyed as  great  evils  in  Organized  Society 
as  the  history  of  the  ages  ever  recorded,  with- 
out s^Dilling  a  drop  of  blood.  The  **  Organized 
Anarchists''  had  perpetrated  as  great  crimes 
upon  the  American  people  as  the  priesthood, 
nobility  and  royalty  had  perpetrated  upon 
the  French  people.  In  France  the  priesthood 
had  robbed  the  people  of  one-third  of  the 
lands,  the  nobility  of  one-fifth  of  the  lands, 
and  royalty  of  another  fifth  of  the  common 
domain,  and  what  was  left  was  so  poor  that 
the  privileged  classes  did  not  wish  it,  but  com- 
pelled the  peasants  to  live  upon  it  and  pro- 
duce a  livelihood  for  the  priesthood,  the  no- 

311 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


bles  and  the  royalty,  thereby  reducing  twen- 
ty-five millions  of  Frenchmen  to  poverty  and 
starvation  until  the  highways  of  France  were 
covered  with  dead  and  decaying  bodies  of  the 
starved  and  dead  peasants.  It  took  a  boiling 
and  foaming  revolutionary  sea  to  free  France 
from  the  plunder  and  robbery  of  the  priest- 
hood, nobility  and  royalty.  And  these  priv- 
ileged classes  in  France  robbed  and  plundered 
the  masses  until  an  outraged  populace  fed 
the  priesthood,  nobility  and  royalty  to  the 
guillotine  machine  of  death,  until  their 
crushed  and  mangled  bodies  filled  the  rivers 
of  France  and  poisoned  the  waters  until  no 
living  creature  could  exist  therein.  Not  sa 
with  the  Anglo-Saxon  in  America;  the  *^ Or- 
ganized Anarchists"  had  perpetrated  as  great 
wrongs  upon  the  masses  of  the  American  peo- 
ple as  the  priesthood,  nobility  and  royalty 
did  in  France,  yet  here  the  Anglo-Saxon 
solved  the  question  of  self-government  and 
destroyed  the  wrongs  of  the  organized  plun- 
derers without  spilling  a  drop  of  blood.  No 
guillotine  machine  of  death  here  to  crush  and 
grind  the  bones  of  human  beings  unto  death ; 
HO  **Law  of  the  Suspected"  here  that  sent 

312 


IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  LAW 

thousands  upon  thousands  daily  into  eternity ; 
no  rivers  flowing  with  human  blood  and  hu- 
man bodies ;  no  *  ^  Eeign  of  White  Terror ; ' '  no 
''Reign  of  Death,"  but  law  and  order  perpet- 
uated, working  out  the  destines  of  free  in- 
stitutions without  the  stain  of  human  blood. 


313 


CHAPTEE  XXIV 


GRACE  FAITHFUL  UNTO  THE  END 

DURING  all  the  years  of  the  conflict  be- 
tween the  wrongs  of  the  *' Organized 
Anarchists''  and  the  rights  of  the  peo- 
ple, Grace  had  toiled  on  in  her  conservatory 
of  music  and  art  gallery  in  Cincinnati.  It 
had  been  a  hard  and  long  struggle,  a  strug- 
gle that  taxed  her  spirit  and  soul  to  the  ut- 
most tension,  yet  she  grumbled  not.  She  put 
her  great  spirit  and  soul  into  her  efforts  to 
raise  and  educate  her  own  children  and  the 
children  of  her  sisters.  She  knew  that  she 
and  her  family  had  been  the  victims  of  the 
wrongs  of  others,  that  they  had  suffered  out- 
rages that  were  nothing  less  than  crimes 
against  Organized  Society  and  the  civiliza- 
tion of  her  age.  But  she  grumbled  not  for 
she  knew  that  thousands  of  helpless  women 
throughout  the  land  were  laboring  and  toil- 
ing under  the  same  burdens.    She  knew  her 

ti 

314 


GRACE  FAITHFUL  UNTO  THE  END 

home  in  old  Kentucky  was  not  the  only  home 
that  had  become  deserted  as  a  result  of  the 
wrongs  of  the  ^^ Organized  Anarchists,"  but 
that  the  land  was  full  of  deserted  homes ;  that 
happy  homes  throughout  the  land  had  been 
deserted  and  that  the  great  cities  of  the  re- 
public were  full  of  helpless  men  and  women 
struggling  and  toiling  and  grappling  with 
poverty  as  a  result  of  the  outrages  perpe- 
trated by  the  ^ '  Organized  Anarchists ' '  against 
Organized  Society.  Through  all  the  days, 
weeks,  months  and  years  she  toiled  to  raise 
and  educate  the  children,  to  prepare  them  to 
go  forth  into  a  new-born  and  regenerated  re- 
public. She  knew  she  had  suffered  wrongs. 
She  was  preparing  them  to  contend  for  their 
rights;  preparing  them  to  enter  into  the  life 
of  a  new-born  republic  and  to  perpetuate  it 
to  the  coming  generations. 

She  had  not  been  unmindful  of  the  conflict 
that  had  gone  on  through  the  years  between 
the  people  and  the  *^ Organized  Anarchists." 
She  had  kept  in  touch  with  the  struggles  of 
the  times;  she  had  read  in  the  magazines,  in 
the  journals  and  in  the  daily  press  of  the 
struggles  of  the  people  to  overcome  the  '  ^  Or- 

315 


THE  STRUGGLE 


ganized  Anarchists"  and  to  restore  tlie  Ee- 
pnblic  to  law  and  order ;  she  read  of  the  con- 
flict in  both  of  the  great  political  parties  in 
their  efforts  to  free  themselves  from  the  grasp 
of  the  ** Organized  Anarchists."  She  read  of 
the  struggles  of  the  people's  representatives 
in  all  of  the  conventions  in  all  of  the  states 
of  the  Union  in  tht3ir  efforts  to  destroy  the 
organized  enemies  of  the  republic.  She  read 
of  the  great  struggle  and  contest  throughout 
the  Union  between  the  two  great  forces  of 
right  and  wrong;  the  struggle  between  the 
patriots  and  the  men  who  would  destroy  free 
institutions.  She  watched  with  absorbing  in- 
terest these  two  mighty  forces  as  they  strug- 
gled and  grappled  with  each  other  for  su- 
premacy and  her  heart  went  out  for  the  tri- 
umph of  right  and  her  soul  protested  against 
the  powers  of  wrong.  She  realized  what  it 
meant  to  the  toiling  and  struggling  millions 
of  helpless  men,  women  and  children  through- 
out the  land.  If  the  powers  of  wrong,  the 
*' Organized  Anarchists,"  triumphed  in  the 
final  contest,  she  knew  that  free  institutions 
were  forever  gone  and  that  the  millions  of 
helpless  men,  women  and  children  of  the  land 

316 


GRACE  FAITHFUL  UNTO  THE  END 

would  continue  to  be  industrial  slaves,  and 
the  vassals  of  the  ^* sweat  shops."  But  if  the 
powers  of  right  triumphed  the  enemies  of 
free  institutions  would  be  dethroned  and  the 
Eepublic  restored  to  a  land  of  prosperity  and 
happy  homes.  She  watched  the  great  conflict 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  in  its  final  effort  to 
solve  the  problem  of  self-government,  with 
unabated  interest.  She  knew  it  was  the  con- 
test between  right  and  wrong ;  the  contest  that 
had  placed  the  right  of  free  institutions  to  ex- 
ist on  final  trial.  She  watched  with  heartfelt 
interest  every  movement  of  the  great  battle 
that  was  waging  its  last  war  against  the  right 
of  free  institutions  to  exist.  Her  great  throb- 
bing heart  rejoiced  as  she  saw  the  powers  of 
wrong  go  down  one  by  one  beneath  the  on- 
slaught of  the  powers  of  truth ;  she  read  with 
heartfelt  interest  each  triumph  of  right;  her 
heart  rejoiced  as  she  saw  the  power  of  the 
people  sweep  over  each  commonwealth  of  the 
Union  and  destroy  the  *' Organized  Anarch- 
ists." She  read  with  joy  the  news  as  state 
after  state  enacted  laws  declaring  the  acts 
of  these  men  to  be  crimes  and  their  perpetra- 
tors to  be  criminals ;  she  read  with  interest  the 

317 


THE  STRUGGLE 


acts  of  the  Federal  Government  declaring  the 
comhinations  of  the  ^^ Organized  Anarchists'' 
to  be  criminal  institutions.  Her  heart 
rejoiced  as  she  saw  the  Courts  of  the  land, 
both  Federal  and  State,  enforcing  these 
rights  and  sentencing  these  *^  Organized  An- 
archists" and  their  lieutenants  one  by  one  to 
the  penitentiaries.  She  read  in  the  daily 
newspapers  the  proceedings  of  the  Courts 
of  all  the  states  of  the  Union  as  they  went  on 
grinding  out  justice  and  sending  the  real 
criminals  of  the  land  behind  the  prison  bars 
until  all  the  real  criminals  and  *' Organized 
Anarchists"  were  wearing  stripes  and  their 
criminal  institutions  were  destroyed.  No 
more  combinations  to  destroy  real  values  and 
to  make  fictitious  values;  no  more  gambling 
shops  and  gambling  stock  exchanges  and 
boards  of  trade  to  destroy  the  real  values  of 
the  products  of  a  great  people  and  to  traffic 
in  the  life 's  blood  of  a  great  nation.  She  read 
the  glad  tidings  in  the  Inquirer,  the  Times 
Star,  the  Commercial  Post  and  other  Cin- 
cinnati papers  as  the  chiefs  of  the  *^  Organized 
Anarchists"  and  the  real  criminals  were 
sentenced   one    by   one    in    the    New   York 

318 


GRACE  FAITHFUL  UNTO  THE  END 

Courts;  she  studied  the  photograph  of  Pont 
Slogan  that  appeared  in  the  papers  the  day  he 
was  carried  to  Sing  Sing;  she  studied  his  red 
nose,  the  animal  in  his  character,  the  brute  in 
his  face,  then  it  was  clear  to  her  how  he  had 
headed  an  organization  of  men  to  plunder  the 
homes  of  the  land.  She  studied  the  photo- 
graphs of  each  one  of  the  chief  Anarchists 
in  the  papers  as  they  were  carried  one  by  one 
to  Sing  Sing  and  as  she  studied  these  char- 
acters and  the  brute  force  in  their  faces,  their 
greed  for  money,  it  was  all  clear  to  her  why 
the  people  had  been  plundered  and  robbed; 
why  free  institutions  had  staggered  beneath 
the  onslaught  of  these  criminals.  She  read  the 
news  and  studied  the  facial  expression  and 
character  of  the  photographs  of  the  criminals 
at  the  head  of  the  meat  trust  when  they  were 
sentenced  by  the  Chicago  Courts  to  serve  their 
term  behind  the  prison  bars  in  the  state  pris- 
ons of  Illinois,  and  as  she  studied  the  faces  of 
these  men  and  discerned  their  real  characters 
and  greed  for  money  it  was  clear  to  her  how 
they  had  gone  on  for  years  levying  tribute 
on  the  food  of  eighty  millions  of  people,  while 
thousands  of  poor  helpless  men,  women  and 

319 


THE  STRUGGLE 


children  in  the  large  cities  of  the  land  were 
starving  and  perishing  for  food ;  she  could  see 
the  criminality  in  the  faces  of  these  men— 
no  heart,  no  soul,  there. 

Her  great  heart  rejoiced  as  she  saw  the  real 
criminals  of  the  land  collected  behind  iron 
bars.  She  had  suffered  at  their  hands ;  she 
knew  that  thousands  of  homes  and  millions 
of  helpless  men,  women  and  children  had  suf- 
fered as  the  result  of  the  outrages  perpetrated 
by  these  men  upon  a  free  people.  She  knew 
of  the  sufferings,  sorrows,  hunger  and  want 
that  they  had  produced  in  the  land.  She  knew 
of  the  deaths  and  suicides  that  they  had 
caused  throughout  the  Eepublic.  She  had  car- 
ried her  burdens  and  sorrows  that  these  crim- 
inals had  placed  upon  her,  all  through  the 
years  without  grumbling  or  murmuring;  she 
had  been  faithful  to  her  burden  of  duty 
placed  upon  her  by  these  criminals  without  re- 
vealing the  pangs  of  her  bleeding  heart  to  a 
living  soul ;  she  had  worked,  she  had  toiled  to 
raise  and  care  for  her  own  children  and  the 
children  of  others,  to  be  faithful  to  the  bur- 
dens that  the  crimes  of  these  arch  criminals 
had  placed  upon  her. 

320 


GRACE  FAITHFUL  UNTO  THE  END 

Her  spirit  lived  in  her  work ;  whatever  her 
brush  of  art  touched  it  was  written  there; 
wherever  her  notes  of  music  vibrated  into  the 
air,  it  was  breathed  there.  Through  all  of 
these  years  when  the  Eepublic  was  staggering 
beneath  its  burden,  staggering  under  the 
crimes  of  these  criminals,  her  great  spirit 
was  drawing  closer  and  closer  to  God,  and  as 
the  crowds  of  mad  men  went  daily  by,  rushing 
and  pushing  and  shoving,  hunting  and  grab- 
bing for  dollars,  music  went  out  from  her  soul, 
vibrating  upon  the  air,  that  touched  their 
stony  hearts  and  moved  their  spirits  to  realize 
that  the  mad  rush  of  this  life  would  soon  be 
over,  and  then,  then  the  great,  great  beyond. 
During  the  early  hours  of  the  cold,  dreary, 
bleak  winter  nights,  as  she  sat  in  her  room 
thinking  of  the  home  of  her  girlhood,  think- 
ing of  the  loved  ones  who  had  gone  before, 
thinking  of  the  days  that  she  had  lived  in 
the  past,  thinking  of  the  old  Kentucky  home, 
the  home  of  her  father,  the  home  of  her  child- 
hood, thinking  of  how  it  had  been  snatched 
from  her  by  the  crimes  of  the  criminals  of 
the  land,  and  as  she  sat  there  all  alone  living 
unto  herself,  living  in  communion  with  her 

321 


THE  STRUGGLE 


soul,  and  as  the  homeless,  hungry  and  starv- 
ing men  would  go  tramping  by  her  window, 
the  notes  of  ** Home,  Sweet  Home,*'  would  vi- 
brate out  into  the  chilly,  cold  open  air  until 
the  eyes  of  these  homeless,  tramping  men 
would  be  bathed  in  tears.  Her  spirit  was 
speaking  to  their  spirits  through  God's  voice, 
music— telling  them  that  while  things  had 
gone  wrong  down  here,  that  while  they  were 
the  victims  of  the  wrongs  of  others,  by 
and  by  all  wrongs  would  be  made  right ;  that 
God  would  correct  them  all  in  the  end,  and 
that  there  was  a  home  over  yonder  where  all 
just  spirits  would  anchor  safely  in  the  har- 
bor. She  had  lifted  young  Alex  Wilson's 
soul  in  his  buoyant  young  manhood  to  realms 
immortal  with  the  old  tune  of  *'Home,  Sweet 
Home,"  in  the  days  of  her  young  animated 
womanhood.  During  the  cold,  bleak  winter 
nights  of  later  years  when  she  was  nearing  the 
end  of  her  journey,  she  lifted  the  spirits  of 
poor  down-trodden  humanity  as  it  went  mov- 
ing by  her  window,  to  the  same  immortal 
realms,  with  the  same  power  Divine.  Ah, 
music,  how  cruel!    Divine  thou  art  yet  thou 

322 


GRACE  FAITHFUL  UNTO  THE  END 

raisest  our  souls  to  heights  that  we  can  never 
attain  until  we  enter  within  the  veil ! 

She  had  gone  through  many  trials  and  trib- 
ulations. Her  face  had  lost  its  flush  and 
beauty  of  young  womanhood.  Trouble  and 
worry  had  written  their  signs  there,  and  her 
form  was  not  the  plump  and  vivacious  form 
of  her  young  animated  womanhood.  Trou- 
bles, burdens  and  years  had  told  their  story, 
had  left  their  marks  upon  that  form  that  was 
once  Divinely  shaped.  She  was  worn,  jaded 
and  broken,  yet  her  spirit,  the  real  woman, 
was  the  same  living,  vital  being;  it  was  this 
spirit  that  gave  forth  music,  music  unto  the 
end,  music  that  vibrated  out  from  her  window 
into  the  open  air  and  moved  the  hearts  of  the 
rushing,  pushing  crowds  as  they  went  scram- 
bling by,  to  higher  and  better  things  than 
this  cold,  material  and  decaying  world;  her 
spirit  was  the  same  Divine  force  unto  the  end. 
She  had  been  faithful  to  the  burdens  that  the 
wrongs  of  others  had  placed  upon  her;  she 
had  reared  and  cared  for  her  children  and  the 
children  of  others  near  and  dear  to  her,  and 
now  they  were  ready  to  go  forth  in  life  and 
into  a  new  and  regenerated  Republic.    When 

323 


TEE  STRUGGLE 


her  eyes  opened  upon  this  world  they  beheld 
the  greatest  Eepnblic  of  the  greatest  race  of 
the  earth  working  out  the  destinies  of  man 
and  God.  She  lived  to  see  that  Republic  de- 
throned, and  at  the  mercy  of  the  greatest  or- 
ganization of  commercial  pirates  and  crimi- 
nals known  to  the  history  of  the  ages,  and  in 
her  declining  years  she  lived  to  see  that  Re- 
public freed  from  these  criminals  and  restored 
to  its  natural  condition.  And  then  her  eyes 
closed  upon  a  Nation  whose  lifers  blood  went 
beating  and  throbbing  through  the  natural 
veins  and  arteries  of  the  Republic,  producing 
vitality  and  life  everywhere,  and  then  her 
great  spirit  went  floating  out,  out  into  the 
great  spiritual  world  where  just  spirits  im- 
mortal reign. 


SOLWET/ASF. 


324 


